Accessing the Internet using Vodafone GPRS and a PDA with Bluetooth

Posted on By Mark Wilson
This content is 20 years old. I don't routinely update old blog posts as they are only intended to represent a view at a particular point in time. Please be warned that the information here may be out of date.

I’ve been trying to get my PDA (an HP iPAQ 2210) to connect to the Internet via a Bluetooth connection to my business mobile phone (a Nokia 6310i). I was having problems with this until I found the details on the Vodafone website (Get More from Your Mobile | Internet on the Move | Set up your PDA); however the Vodafone details don’t include PDAs running Windows Mobile for Pocket PC 2003 or Bluetooth connectivity and so I’ve posted my own instructions here:

(these notes assume that that you are familiar with using the PocketPC and that you have already successfully paired the PDA with the mobile handset).

From the Start menu, select, Settings:
Move to the Connections page and click the Connections icon, then select Add a new modem connection.

Give the connection a name (e.g. Vodafone GPRS) and select a Bluetooth Dialup Modem, before clicking Next:

Enter the number as *99# and click Next:

Enter the username and password (both web). Leave the domain name empty and click Advanced…:

On the General page, set the Baud rate to 57600 and enter a modem command string of +cgdcont=1,"ip","Internet":

On the Port Settings page, set 8 data bits, no parity, 2 stop bits and hardware flow control:

All other advanced settings should be default (most notably the connection should use server-assigned [IP] addresses):

Click OK, and then Finish.

Turn Bluetooth on:

Launch the Vodafone GPRS connection (e.g. by clicking the connectivity icon at the top of the screen and then clicking *99#):

The PDA will initiate the connection with the mobile handset (it may be necessary to confirm the connection on the handset):

Once connected, Internet services can be accessed as normal:

To disconnect, click the connectivity icon at the top of the screen and click Disconnect:

Finally, turn Bluetooth off to conserve power:

43 thoughts on “Accessing the Internet using Vodafone GPRS and a PDA with Bluetooth”

  1. Pingback: Mark’s (we)Blog » Your e-mail: anytime, anyplace, anywhere

  2. I would just like to say that thanks to this info, I have been able to set GPRS up on my iPaq H5550 with a Nokia 6310i just by following your guide. Many thanks for taking the time to post this. Regards Matt Mason

  3. Thnaks for your brilliant exposé on the troublesome 6310i and PDA connectivity. Anychance you could do something similar for an Orange HSCSD connection? The Bluetooth paring is OK and I’ve recently had the firmware upgraded to 5.51, but I still get the mysterious cut-off at 55 seconds no matter what. It’s driving me nuts!
    Cheers.. dave@southbarn.com

  4. Matt and Dave, I’m glad you found this post useful and thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.

    Dave, unfortunately I don’t have access to an Orange HSCSD card, but I will ask my colleagues in the mobility community at Conchango to see if anyone else is familiar with your issue.

  6. Hi, i’d just like to say great help, but i’m still having a slight problem. The PDA connects and everything seems fine. However, when you try to do anything online such as open up a web page it takes ages, then says “the page you are looking for cannot be found” i know it is not a problem with my PDA’s internet because i use wireless LAN regularly. If you could possibly help that would be excellent.
    Will Gadsby
    madgazza@hotmail.com

  8. Hi,

    I would like to thank you for your pda internet connection guide as after farting around for days i came accross your site by accident and now have a working gprs connection.

    thanks to you

    Paul

  10. Great, great guide. This helped me actually get connected while all the S*** guides of my provider were no where near. Go figure.

    Thanx again Mark! U rock!

  11. this is driving me crazy. i have a dell axim x50v running windows mobile 2003 and a sharp gx30i on the vodafone network.

    I can pair via bluetooth no problem but cannot get access to the internet. i have followed instructions here and on the dell axim site but with no success. i have a hunch my phone is rubbish but not sure.

    any help appreciated.

  13. i have a problem …

    i cant connect with my V800 and DELL axim X50 … which is the problem ?

    all is good with Z600 and axim.

  14. Brilliant guide, thanks for taking the time to do that as its helped no end.

    I have set this up using my Nokia 8800 and iPAQ 2210 and worked 1st time.

  15. Hi Mark

    A very useful site.

    I don’t suppose you happen to know the equvalent to *99# for the 02 network do you ?

  16. Hi Mark,
    Based on information from FileSaveAs, *99# seems to be the standard number across all UK networks; however there’s a Bluetooth dial up guide for iPaq Windows Mobile 2003 (GPRS or CDMA) which suggests that “If using GPRS the ‘Phone Number’ should be in the format *99***1#, where 1 is the connection configured in your mobile phone. If using CDMA the ‘Phone Number’ should be in the format #777”. The article is from New Zealand but I guess that might be worth a try?

    HTH, Mark

  17. Thanks so much – you made it so simple. I’ve been searched Vodafone, Dell & Samsung for help before I found you. Your instructions worked first time.

  18. I’ve been trying to connect an Ipaq 2210 for what seems like a lifetime and even considered switching to a Palm to pick up emails etc. But no longer ! Your instructions worked perfectly and I’m now picking up my Hotmails as we ‘speak’

    Cheers for a job very well done

    Richard

  19. Thank you so much. I’ve been trying for two weeks to get the Axim 51v to talk to the Vodafone z140v and your instructions worked perfectly.Nigel

  20. Thanks so much. I couldn’t get my Nokia to act as a modem for my iPAQ and now I can. You are a star!

  21. Thanks very much, a very accurate and well written description!

    Some issues that I came accross and others might –

    You may have to initiate the connection with Bluetooth manager (don’t know why still trying to track it down) in order to make a connection. If the PDA just tries dialing even with Bluetooth enabled the connection fails. Initiated via the manager works a treat. Wierd!

    The baud rate can be set right up for most modern mobile phones.

    If you are still getting problems have a look at which network the pda is pointing at for the internet. Mine is still a mess and has to have different settings depending on whether I am loggin in via WiFi at home or GPRS on the move.

  22. hi, thanks for sharing the info on using the pda to access the net via an vodafone mobile, but i must be rubbish, because i couldnt get it to dial the right number, on my pda, it wont let move forward unless i input the country code and an area code. please help me as to what im doing wrong

    many thanks

    Joe

  23. Hi Joe – I’m sure you’re not rubbish, just that this post was written nearly 3 years ago, based on Windows Mobile for PocketPC 2003 and today’s devices will be running Windows Mobile 5 or 6. Unfortunately I haven’t got a PDA any more so I can’t test anything for you, but it sounds like you may be able to avoid the country code/area code question if you can tell it not to use dialling rules.

    HTH, Mark

  24. It STUNS me that it takes an individual like yourself to unravel what should be SO EASY but is in fact IMPOSSIBLE !! Many thanks ! Finally got connected !

  27. Thanks – your adice on connecting a mobile to Vodafone via a PDA was invaluable.

    My Ipaq is fussy about connecting its built in wireless to my home network.
    Do you have any wonderful tips (apart from using Sockets’ Wifi Companion, which hasn’t he;ped and isn’t supported for this use now).

    Best wishes,
    rdn

  28. Hi Richard – glad the info I posted was useful but sorry, I’ve no experience of using an iPAQ on WiFi (I’ve not got an iPAQ any more). The only things I would suggest are around checking that it’s using the same WiFi standard (802.11a/b/g/n) and that you don’t have security configured on the home network (e.g. MAC address filtering) that is preventing the iPAQ from connecting.

    Good luck, Mark

  29. Hi, Echoing the other comments, thanks very much for taking the time to post this info. Finally success after having tried to follow a number of other explanations found online. My Dell Axim and Nokia 6300 now talk freely!

    Best Wishes

    Peter

  30. Thanks ever so much for posting this guide. Like others I’d been fighting to get it to work with no success, and now I have mobile internet!

    Great stuff :)

  31. Let me add my thanks to all the others. My iPAQ 4700hx got reset recently, and I lost the magic dial-string modem command that would tell my Nokia phone how to connect to Vodafone. Your step-by-step directions, complete with screen shots, were perfect.

  33. Does this work with pay as you go? I have tried these setting and many more to no avail! :S

    It starts connecting then my mobile displays a “pocket pc disconected” message then i guess it just times out.

    I use an LG KG800

  34. @Mark – I don’t see why it shouldn’t work with PAYG – although I haven’t tried it either. I guess the main point would be whether your PAYG account allows data access?

    Also, these instructions were written for a Nokia phone – the connection details might be different with your LG.

  35. Having restated my connection settings on my HTC Trinity many times, I know for a fact that Orange use different access points for their PAYG than their monthly accounts. Details here for all network connection settings. Hopefully this is what Mark is after…

  36. I ‘ve tried to connect a wince device with a Nokia 6270 for dialing connection. It worked now. But only the net speed is so slow!

  38. Could not connect my old iPaq 5550 to GPRS on Vodafone PAYG using bluetooth dialup. Everything OK then kept getting “the answering modem has disconnected” message.
    After much internet searching discovered that on Vodafone PAYG, the old standard string +cgdcont=1,”ip”,”internet” no longer works. Replace “internet” with “pp.vodafone.co.uk” and it works beautifully.

    I use an old mobile with a £5.00 PAYG sim as a dedicated phone to download TomTom traffic information for my PDA-based Tom Tom sat nav.

  39. this is a fantastic article and it worked well…now is there a similar tutorial on how to connect a laptop (windows vista) to the internet using vodafone (3G)..thanks

  41. I found this information very useful and I’ve been able to get my hpIpaq2110 to dial my sony erricsson w910i (orange). but the connection fails. ‘Connection failure. Check settings if problem persists, please contact your operator for support.’ appears on my phone. I think I must almost be there, but I’ve probably got something wrong in the set up. I’m not sure what I should be entering here:
    Enter the username and password (both web). Leave the domain name empty and click Advanced…: I entered my Orange user name and password
    Any further advice would be appreciated.

    Regards
    Jenny Ostler

  43. Terrific step by step guide for connecting my HP Ipaq and Nokia 6300 via Vodafone GPRS, saved me taking out a new smartphone contract by using the equipment I already have.
    Been banging my head on a brick wall prior to googling this site.
    Thanks for this.

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