Activate tethering on Softbank iPhone
A friend of mine, @kuriburi, just sent me this to publish for him, so here you go:
So it was the news of the day: Someone managed to activate tethering on an AT&T iPhone 3G by means of a "carrier support file", a.k.a. "ipcc". Here in Japan, the story was a bit more tricky : Softbank declared that they would not support tethering on their network and had no plans to do so in the future either.
Nice! So, with those brand new Macbook Pro without any pc express card slot, how are we supposed to use Softbank's data cards? This bothered me to no end thus I went on a search for a Softbank carrier support file that I could modify somehow. I stumbled onto this very interesting post on a Japanese blog that talked about the same thing, but with a beta version of the iPhone OS 3.0.
OK, well, doesn't hurt to try with the official release, right?
Now I need to get my hands on that damn file. Turns out, it was right on my hard drive at work since August 2008. So I went to work and modified the file (which incidentally is just a bundle in a zip archive with a special extension) and tried to update my iPhone with it. The steps are simple :
- in the Terminal, execute defaults write com.apple.iTunes carrier-testing -bool TRUE
on windows, execute C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunes.exe /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1 in a DOS window
- plug your iPhone to your computer via the USB cable
- in iTunes, display the summary page of your iPhone
- while pressing the "alt" (option) key, click on the "check for update" button
- you will be presented with a finder window. Locate the Softbank_jp.ipcc file, select it
- iTunes will now update your iPhone with the modified carrier settings
- Once finished, unplug the iPhone, go see into Settings>General>Network, and voilà! screenshot
Oh, before I forget, if Apple or Softbank issues an update through iTunes, wait a bit before updating... you never know...
Update: I updated the link with the latest file from @kuriburi that activates both tethering and MMS. よろしく！
Update: This IPCC file does not work with 3.1 update. If you value your tethering, do not upgrade yet.
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Attention all ! please make sure that you rename the file to “Softbank_jp.ipcc”.
Safari apparently adds a “.zip” at the end of the filename when you download it. You might need to use the command-i panel to correct the filename.
I tried the update using this method but unfortunately the Softbank_jp.ipcc file is grayed out and I am unable to select it.
Even when I rename the extension, the file behaves like a folder when I view it in the iTunes browser window. I can see the contents of the package but am unable to click open as the button is grayed out.
@Elias : download the file again, this time without Safari. Try Firefox or curl. Do NOT double-click on the file.
I used Firefox to download the file this time and it worked like a charm.
Thank you for the tip!
Thanks a lot to you and @kuriburi! It works great :D Now I just wonder if it still works with the white plan or do you think that they can detect this and charge a special fee for that ? o_O
Works great! Thanks for sharing.
Does Softbank have any way of detecting tether usage?
Thanks for the tip and the modified file. Works like a charm (I did not figure out how to use the bluetooth transmission, though. It’s paired, but I don’t seem to be able to surf with bluetooth). Works fine with USB
Morning wOOkie & kuriburi, I had the same idea yesterday when I installed the 3.0 software on my iPhone 3G – there’s gotta be a way to tether this sucker! And voila! I Googled and found your page – and as a fellow gajin here in Japan, I immediately followed your how-tos and am now tethered! Arigato! Now I’m ready to connect, even without WiFi, anywhere I go throughout Japan! Cool!
Glad it works for you guys too.
I’m pretty sure (like, 101% sure) that Softbank can monitor traffic on their own network, SO GO EASY ! I’d say you’ll be pretty safe if all you use this function for is email, but if you start doing bittorrent on it, I can almost guarantee retaliation from Softbank’s お父さん…
We wouldn’t want Softbank to completely disable that stuff via an Over The Air update…
Yea, I completely agree. When I’m at home, it’s fiber optic, when I’m out and about, it’s the closest open WiFi hotspot…and in those rare cases where there’s no connection available, then it’s “the tether.” I’m planning to use it really sparingly, like for mail and checking Web pages for my English students. No use spoiling this golden opportunity for everyone by using it full-tilt, non-stop all day! I don’t want 父さん down my back either! (^o~)
Sorry to sound ignorant, but where/ how can I get the ipcc file?
Hey Sakabara, if you have a Mac, go to System Preference > Bluetooth and in the left column, find your iPhone and click on it. Then, down at the bottom of the window, there’s a button with a cog wheel and an arrow. Clicking on that brings up a popup menu and the top choice is Connect to Network. Click that and you’re connected!
Tony, the link is in the post
Right here on this page, Tony. Look at step #5:
5. you will be presented with a finder window. Locate the Softbank_jp.ipcc file, select it
Click on the words “Softbank_jp.ipcc” and the file will download. Go to the Finder and make sure the file name is exactly the same as above. If there’s a “.zip” at the end, erase it and then you’re good to go!
It works but you lose MMS because these settings are not in the older Softbank_jp.ipcc. No MMS is not really a biggy in Japan.
VPN will prevent Softbank from detecting tethering but obviously if tethering becomes widespread and they notice a big jump in traffic I suspect they will change settings.
OK duh. Wasn’t sufficiently caffeinated. Works like a charm. Thanks so much for posting this! At least I have the option of responding to emails on my laptop when I’m on the road
Hi folks, can someone help me out. How can I do this on PC? I don’t have a MAC. Can someone kindly post the steps on how to do this on An iPhone connected to PC if possible?
@Kyle : damn, I didn’t even realise that ! uhm if someone knows the settings of the apn for mms I can update the file with those settings so we can reactivate it.
@Den : For Windows, replace step 1 by typing this in a dos box with iTunes closed :
C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunes.exe /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1
then proceed as described above.
Howdy!
I’m trying to do step 4 and 5 on a PC….but it doesn’t give me a finder window….it just says that we’re up to date with 3.0.
Ok, and MMS is WORKING. Not sure what happened for those of you for whom it is not working – I did this on a Mac (actually a Dell Mini hackintosh). I downloaded the file in Step 5 and all I did was press option+check for update and copy the file across. Tried it on a coworker’s iPhone and it’s working fine there as well. It took barely a minute. (It’s funny. His is configured with Japanese language interface and the Tether stuff is translated into Japanese even though Softbank customers are not ever supposed to see it…)
There are no MMS setting in the carrier.plist which is why MMS doesn’t show up.
Not sure how MMS is working without these settings.
@tre : on Windows, you have to use the SHIFT key when clicking on “check for update”
@Kurt : That’s odd, we all use the same file… Are you sure that in Settings>Messages you still have the toggles for MMS ?? Me and Kyle sure don’t…
@Kurisu –
Yup, it’s all still there. I didn’t try sending a picture or anything but it’s working for sending messages to/from a regular Internet mail address.
One thing I DID do which maybe you didn’t, however, is download the file with Safari. It unzipped everything into a folder called “Payload”. I thought “argh” but I just zipped it back up (ctrl-click and chose ‘compress’) and renamed the result to Softbank_TETHER.ipcc (and removed the .zip extension). Then I used iTunes 8.2 to import this file.
Maybe that made a difference.
Also – where are you located? It’s possible you have different MMS configuration depending on your location in the country. I’m in Tokyo.
@Kurt, tks, I’ll try again, but I don’t think that would make a difference since I’m the one who made the archive from the “payload” folder.
Location-wise, I think we’re all in Tokyo (or at least Japan), hence the special file for Softbank ;-)
I’m on the train now and cant wait to be home so I could retry this process. I’m in saitama. Will post the results later.
Hi DonDocFranck,
Thanks for the tip. Actually, after posting, I remembered the way to activate bluetooth (not been using it so far for net access…), and I found out the way to access. I noticed that, at least for me, bluetooth access is zippier than USB.
Also, on a different note: went to お父さん’s place in Omote Sando today. I got confirmation that お父さん will be aware of our deeds… The contract for the new 3Gs (actually, the same applies for 3G too) specifically mentions that any tethering-like activity might be charged separately and is not covered by the usual data plan… Careful about using it then, ’cause you/we might end up with a huge bill…
I got confirmation that お父さん won’t ever authorize tethering in Japan. Told him that he should watch his back if ever N** D*C*M* gets a share of the iPhone Pie sometimes…
Cheers to all…
I’ve been using pdanet since 2.2. I even downloaded movies and songs bigtime using utorrent/limewire last month. Checked with softbank and so far no additional cost on my monthly bill. I’m always at 6000 to 8000 yen monthly. Better to be careful next time.
Well this is interesting. It stopped working. I toggles the MMS off an on one time and MMS is gone now. It was working immediately after making the change and for a few hours after as well. I even was able to use tethering and send an email MMS at the same time. I will try again tonight.
thanks kurisu! works like a charm!!!
Awesome, I’m on Windows XP and this worked for me as well – both tethering and MMS.
Here are the steps:
1. Close iTunes, go to Start > Run > “C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunes.exe” /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1
2. Download Softbank_jp.ipcc from http://w00kie.com/uploads/2009/06/Softbank_jp.ipcc
3. Connect your iPhone to your PC and launch iTunes
4. Now, display the iPhone summary in iTunes.
5. While holding “Shift Key” (Alt key did not worked for me) click on “Check for Update”
6. It will ask for the location of the file you downloaded. In the Files of Type drop down box, choose iPhone Carrier Configuration File and locate the file downloaded on step 2 then press Open.
7. iTunes will update your iPhone Carrier config. Eject the iPhone and close iTunes.
8. While the iPhone is connected to the USB cable on your PC, go to Settings>General>Network and enable USB tethering.
I have tested speed and MMS, both seems to be working ine. That’s all Folks!
Here are the proof:
http://img200.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=tether.jpg
OK, I tested a little more with the original ipcc and the modified ipcc. It appears that the phone remembers the important parts of the previous configurations and will support both connections, until the next reboot (or maybe sooner).
Maybe this is a clue to getting both working at the same time.
Crap :( You’re right. MMS is gone after reboot.
OK I got it working. This looks like it’s for real.
I started over from the Japanese instructions so not sure if EDGE editing is enabled with @kurisu’s prebaked file but if should be.
1. Apply the modded IPCC file like it says here.
2. Open Settings/General/Network/Cellular Data Network
3. You will see a few blank fields under MMS.
Complete them as follows:
MMSC: http://mms/ —Don’t forget the last forward slash
MMS Proxy: mmsopen.softbank.ne.jp:8080
MMS Max Message Size: Blank
MMS UA Prof URL: Blank
4. Power off then power on your device to verify it is working.
I got everything working just like before – both tethering and MMS, even at the same time, and it retains after reboot!
The only difference I can tell:
Email input field is missing from Settings/Messaging, but the other two slider switches are there and MMS send/receive is working fine.
Not sure if just a slow network, but also send worked fine but receive didnt work until i disconnected the tether connection.
I’ve found a way too,
Basic concept was put AT&T MMS enabler and tethering enabler all at one.
On .ipcc file there’s carrier file
in carrier file I added
AllowMMSCEditing
AllowMMSEditing
AllowMMS
and
mms_proxy
mmsopen.softbank.ne.jp
mms_proxy_port
8080
mmsc
http://mms/
works totally fine now.
Hey Kurt, a couple of quick questions…
1. Where’s the modified file on this page?
2. I looked in Settings/General/Network/ on my iPhone and found no Cellular Data Network section. Does that only appear after applying the modified ipcc file?
Also, there seem to be both opinions expressed here about Softbank being able to track tethering usage. Of course, I’m going to be careful about using it, but…one wonders, can they really track it or not?
Not sure if i’ts me or my phone but I don’t see cellular data network under Settings/General/Network. Anyone knows how can I make this option to show up?
Ok folks, I am jailbreaking my iPhone so I can retrieve the unedited carrier.plist from the phone and cook up a final version of the Softbank_jp.ipcc enabling tethering while retaining MMS.
I’ll report back soon.
OK kurisu, よろしくね。Standing by for your final update! (^o~)
I’ve retrieved the carrier.plist off of my iPhone and worked on THAT to activate tethering.
Now we have both tethering AND MMS :D
I’ve just sent it to w00kie, so check this page later today for a download link.
Cool – Did you enable AllowEDGEEditing for the file you made?
pawned! Nice work kurisu! Now waiting for the link and 3.0 JB for Windows.
w00kie tells me that the file has been updated. If you click the link in the post, you’ll get the new version.
@Kurt: nope
Nope… Sorry w00kie, it seems that the link for downloading the file is dead. Could you please check once more it is alive. I just got “File not found” upon clicking the link…
Sorry for the trouble and thanks to Kurisu and you…
ooops, sorry, my bad…
i fixed the file, now everything should be fine
Just downloaded the latest update and applied it! Works good! Thanks guys for all the hard work! ど〜も、ど〜も！
Worked flawlessly! Thanks a bunch for the fix.
Thanks so much guys!
The command for people on Windows 7 64bit should be as:
Use the quotes,
“C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\Itunes.exe” /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1
Not sure if i’ts me or my phone but I don’t see cellular data network under Settings/General/Network. Anyone knows how can I make this option to show up?
I too can’t find the cellular data network menu? Why?
and was wondering the location of the original carrier ipcc file if I ever want to revert! Thanks for this fantastic work!
You can ignore my instructions and discussion about Cellular Data Network tab. To see this tab, you need to edit the carrier plist file and add AllowEDGEEditng. @Kurisu’s file eliminates this requirement. Everything works fine with the latest file even without the CDN tab. @Kurisu’s file has a newer MMS proxy so I recommend following that.
FWIW, the new proxy is smilemms.softbank.ne.jp:8080 . There is also a max message size setting of 307200. Everything else is the same as my previous post.
Thanks @Kurisu for making my hack obsolete! :-)
It all becomes clear! Thanks for the info… With the new iPhone out on the 26th, advertised as being able to tether, I wonder if Softbank are just holding back a legit version with a new price scheme worked out!
There is a gap between what apple want to tell us the iPhone can do and what the carriers actually want us to do!
Sorry to be obtuse, but the new file downloads as a folder called “payload”. How do I get the .ipcc file? Simply renaming did not seem to work. Thanks!
You are using Safari to download the file.
You can fix this by downloading with another browser, or doing the following:
1. Ctrl-click or right click the Payload folder and choose “Compress”
2. Rename the resulting ZIP file as Softbank_jp.ipcc
3. Select the resulting ZIP file and “Get Info” for the file by pressing command-I or using the menu command.
4. Under “Name & Extension”, remove .zip from the end of the filename.
5. Finder will prompt which extension you want to keep. Choose “.ipcc”
Done.
The Softbank’s page mentioned below states that the packets communication by tethering (although the term is not directly used) will not be covered by the capping.
http://mb.softbank.jp/mb/price_plan/X/packet_full/
It also states that the customers whose packet charges exceed JPY 50000 will be notified after the following day by SMS.
That page refers to users of the “X” data plan. Those disclaimers have been there since Softbank first started offering the “X” lineup of Windows Mobile smartphones. I used an X01HT for tethering on and off and the charges never showed up on my bill. Their explanation of ‘tethering’ not covered by the fixed price plan means that the fix priced plan does not apply to data communication over other APNs (such as the old ai@vodafone APN which is/was notoriously expensive.)
It remains to be seen if they have developed some way to identify and bill separately for iPhone ‘tethered’ traffic. Since both PC data and iPhone data are going over the same smile.world APN, they would have to develop a way to identify and separate the traffic on the back end.
Kurt: Thanks for your great instructions. Worked like a charm.
Now that I have tethering here in Japan, I think the iPhone is basically perfect. It was the only thing missing. I doubt that SoftBank will ever let people have it legitamately, although I’d be happy to pay more for it. People here just dont catre aboit such things it seems.
I know that we have to be careful to fly below the radar with tethering. I plan to use it only to download an occasional Mobile Me file, since the phone already does Safari and my email.
What will others do with tethering?
Again, many thanks for making it easy!
Al
Ohh, I can assure you that people are interested in this feature. It’s just the old fashioned executives at these mobile phone firms that don’t understand the demand.
The top three Japanese mobile phone companies (DoCoMo, au, SoftBank) run their business around the private consumer (families, high school girls, etc.) and pretty much target their entire business plan at the 18-24 demographic. Only in recent years have they woken up to the corporate market. Ironically SoftBank is one of the more forward thinking of these top three firms with au probably coming in dead last, just having finally released their first smartphone just recently.
Users who want an unlimited data plan and tethering are over on EMobile, a young mobile startup that offers some pretty fresh choices. Unfortunately they have a fairly weak lineup and pretty poor overseas roaming, but they are growing rapidly.
I’m actually glad the iPhone came out on SoftBank because it’s probably the least bad of the three Japanese big mobile companies. DoCoMo is like a government run company and au just doesn’t seem to understand anything other than teenagers and “freeters”…
Personally I plan to use the tethering for my Hackintosh netbook (a Dell Mini 9) for those times when I need to do some slightly more heavy duty computing and for things that need a big screen, a mouse and a real keyboard. Probably really only use it once a week at most.
It’s nice to hear all this info. about tethering and the cell phone society here in Japan. For me, there’s no going back to the cell I had before the iPhone, even more now that you guys worked so hard getting the tethering figured out! As far as I’m concerned, there aren’t really many more holes that need to be plugged. I’m more than satisfied and feel that anything else that comes down the pike, as far as apps and further refinements to the system software, are just going to be icing on the cake. (^o~)
Kurt: You are spot on about the business plan for all 3 companies. I could not agree more. The sad thing is that even if consumers made it plain that they want change, the companies just never will.
I fully agree that there is no going back. I was happy to sleep in the street last July 10th to get my iPhone. It is terrific, and I also agree that it is pretty much perfect now that we have tethering.
Interestingly, I also have a Hackintosh, same as you, Kurt. It is now my favorite laptop because it is so easy to drag around. I love my MacBook Air, but the Hackintosh is just so small and light. It is more than enough when I am out and about. I also agree that once a week is enough for tethering but it sure is nice to know that I have that ability now.
You guys all did a great job to get this out to the rest of us. Cheers!
Well,
I have followed these instructions to a T, and it appeared to work, up until the network preferences comes up.
I have the option to connect via Ethernet Adaptor (en3), but no settings for all the other fields. Are there other requirements to get it to connect?
Did you use DHCP? Manual?
Thanks!
Ross
Not sure about Windows PC but on the Mac, it just worked right away. No additional settings required.
Ross,
If I remember correctly, I was faced with that same window when I installed the first time. I was baffled by those fields, so I just hit the Return key and it started working perfectly without a hitch.
dondocfrank
NFO, Ross,
After setting up tethering, reset your iPhone by holding down the power and home button at the same time… press again to restart…
set up tethering through the settings as mentioned above…
attach the iPhone with usb and allow itunes to sync etc…
then on your mac
1. open network preferences menu…
2. select your iphone in the left hand side of the window…
it appears as ethernet….
3. configure: using DHCP, you should see an IP address etc…
4. Check the Search Domains field, it should have the (softbank)sbm-vvs.ne.jp etc… info
5. click apply
should work!
Hey wOOkie,
I just noticed something about your home page. I’m typing these messages from my iPhone and your really nice nightview pict. of your neighborhood doesn’t show up like it does on my Mac.
dondocfrank
that’s because it’s a 250KB photos and it takes a buttload of time to download on an iPhone
so i took it out of the mobile CSS style
help! why couldn’t i even pass the first step at all??
copy&paste
“C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunes.exe” /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1
to start>run field and it just doesn’t work.
am i missing sth here?
btw, i am using XP HE SP3
thxthx
I see, w00kie, thanks for sharing that with me. I thought maybe it was a programming flaw that kept it from downloading and displaying. No sweat. (^o~)
@ryoi make sure iTunes is really installed in C:\Program Files\
browse to the folder to check if it is really there, if not change enter the correct location in the start>run field
Thanks for this all. Interesting setup.
Cheers,
Chris
@w00kie yeah its right there.
http://twitpic.com/86tt8
if i can just only pass step one, i am all good…
nvm! its all done!
http://twitpic.com/88gz6
thx for the fascinating tips!
btw, any recommend bluetooth driver for windowsXP?
I downloaded and installed the updated IPCC file, and not only does my MMS not come back, but now my tethering is enabled whenever I have the phone plugged into my laptop via USB. Things seem to be going from bad to worse. Any ideas?
Cleared up the USB issue by deleting the associated ethernet interface in my network preferences (nice idea, but not if I’m going to risk getting on SoftBank’s radar every time I want to charge my iPhone), but still have the MMS issue.
This isn’t my iPhone’s usual paired machine, so I’ll have to wait until i get home to do a factory reset, should that be the only fix available.
@midnightbrewer have you tried to power down / restart your iPhone ?
@kurisu Yep. Did a soft reboot and a hard reboot both, several times.
Hi to all,
A good friend of mine was at the annual Shareholders meeting of お父さん this morning. There was two questions, remarks from the floor about the fact that tethering will not be authorized in Japan (both of them strongly requesting tethering). M. Son said that allowing this feature would put too much strain on the servers, since Softbank has now more than 20 millions users. iPhone users are actually using 10 times as much bandwidth as regular phone users. With tethering, it would be 100 times as much for the same price plan and would be unfair to other users.
When asked about the 3G in Japan, M. Son said that, month in month out, it is the most sold model of cellphone among the many models sold by Softbank. About the launch of the 3Gs, he showed his own to the shareholders crowd, saying it is even a better user experience than the 3G. Quite a good publicity stunt for the iPhone…
Can’t wait to get mine on Friday, although it’s gonna cost me a lot to upgrade from the 3G :-(
Cheers to all
@midnightbrewer okay, well then yes, a restore might be in order. Though I’d suggest using the “reset all settings” function on the phone first to avoid the lengthy restore process.
Just wanted to leave a comment. Thank you!!! Being at it all morning and half the afternoon. Ready to throw in the towel and saw this link.
Are the mms text free with plan or it is pay per use? SMS is free correct??
I think MMS is charged ¥0.21/packet, i.e. very expensive and not included in the normal plans.
Thank you for your reply.
I got another question that is not directly related to this topic.
Do you know the apn settings for NTT docomo?
how can they, with a straight face, charge you for MMS by the packet when you have an unlimited packet plan
by the message I would at least understand (even though it would be criminal), but by the packet outside your パケ放題???
Coming from service in the US, I don’t understand why Japan’s mobile plans don’t include packaged mins. It is a shame we have to pay for every 30sec use.
Will this work with a prepaid softbank sim? i don’t want a contract >_<
It may not work with another Softbank sim since the iPhone uses it’s own. I am sure it will work if the phone is unlocked.
I didn’t know Softbank provides prepaid sim?
@w00kie, how can they ? uhm… well, I don’t know HOW, but they still do anyway:
http://mb.softbank.jp/mb/iphone/mail/sms.html
Good news, everybody. After doing a restore and reapplying the IPCC file, everything works beautifully.
I checked the page that kurisu linked to regarding the supposed MMS charge, but it doesn’t say that iPhone OS 3.0 users will start incurring a charge. That’s the generic page that explains about MMS for all phones, not the iPhone. I can’t find a spot that specifically states the iPhone is included OR excluded. I’ll be in there this weekend, though, so I’ll ask them directly then.
I had a Japanese friend read the page and he says that the MMS charge only applies to out-of-network recipients. In other words, not really a big deal and circumventable by email.
“” the MMS charge only applies to out-of-network recipients.”"
Meaning charges apply when sending mms to other networks (like nnt docomo) but free to any softbank users regardless if they use an iphone or not?
If you’re on the white or gold plans, MMS are free if your correspondent is a Softbank or Disney Mobile user. If you send to a user on another network, then you’ll be charged 0.21 yen per packet.
If you’re on the orange plans, you’ll pay 0.105 yen per packet no matter who your correspondent is.
If you’re on the blue plans, you’ll pay 0.21 yen per packet no matter who your correspondent is.
Hope the above clarifies the issue.
And yeah, the page I linked to describes the charges specific to the iPhone, that’s why there is “iPhone” in the URL.
Sweet! I am on a white plan. Don’t have anyone to send it to though.
What network is Disney Mobile? Disney Mobile?
Can anyone confirm that they have got a massive bill form お父さん? If so or not, how were you using it?
Well normally you can see your charge live on that “my softbank” page.
If it is the huge extra packets bill is not there yet then purportedly they don’t count it after all.
So I set up forwarding from gmail to the @softbank.ne.jp address as a kind of push-proxy since it has a preview feature (unlike the standard mail notification from i.softbank.jp, which I guess is just a stripped SMS). Then I realized that Softbank doesn’t just charge to send to non-Softbank phones, it also charges to receive from any non-Softbank address. So that means I would have to pay for each notification and any spam.
Am I missing something here? That’s what it seems to say on Kurisu’s link above. Is the receiving charge definitely outside パケ放題?
The reason I ask in particular is because of the ridiculous way they set up their billing system. As I’m sure you’ve seen, you actually get charged for all your packets to the tune of 100,000 yen a month and then they apply the discount afterwards. I didn’t see a separate MMS category, so I’m wondering if they just credit you back for this use as well.
I got my phone on Friday, followed these instructions on Saturday. More out of curiosity that anything. Tested the tethering with a quick skype call to my father and opening a couple of pages.
That was about it. I definitely had the iphone plugged into the computer while using it a bit – but I am positive tethering was shown as off, and that the macbook was on its normal wireless network.
Anyway, I got this message from softbank today:
＜ソフトバンクより＞
◆パケット通信料に関するお知らせ
ご利用分の概算パケット通信料（各種割引適用後）が、50,000円を超えましたのでお知らせします。
※基本料・オプション使用料は含んでおりません
※パケット割引サービスの申込状況により、実際のご請求金額が50,000円を超えていなくても、本通知が到着することがあります（詳細は注意事項をご確認下さい）
◆本通知に関する注意事項
URL: http://broadband.mb.softbank.jp/f/high2/
※SoftBank 6-2シリーズは通信料必要
●お問合せ：弊社お客さまセンター157《受付9:00-20:00》
●このメールへは返信できません
Which is a bit unexpected.
Anyway, I have reset all settings on the iphone. The tethering option seems to have disappeared (when I am on the computer I am at work at home anyway).
One quick q. the IPCC file, I assume if it is a settings file, that it has now been reset to what the factory standard setting should be? Would that be correct – or is it a separate level of settings that got reset on the iphone?
Any help appreciated.
cheers,
surprised
I should have probably been a little more explicit, the Saturday, was yesterday.
Thanks,
stu
The white plan page makes it look like receiving would be charged as a normal web access especially since they add this footnote:
*2 Communication fees apply when sending/receiving e mail from iPhone 3G E-mail (i) address (XXX@i.softbank.jp)
http://mb.softbank.jp/en/price_plans/whiteplan.html
Anyway, I’d prefer the MMS preview if it is covered under the パケ放題.
I think I might give this ago. How long have you guys been using this?
I know that it is a recent 3.0 feature but maybe on the BETA. I just don’t want お父さん knocking on my door.
@ Suprised
My bill reaches way over 200,000 yen before discounts. To me that mail is just saying that your bill before discounts is over 50,000 yen. I have never received that mail though. Give softbank a call and see what they say.
The message is not super-clear – but the key part is this
（各種割引適用後）= this is after applying all discounts
I will let you know how it turns out
w00kie,
i uploaded the file today, and now i do not get any reception for 3G or anything. i can receive emails if i am connected to wifi. i restored the phone and it got reception again when it was on factory settings. when i restored the backup it lost signal again….any ideas?!
uuhhhhh nevermind, 3G was turned off. hahaha….give me a break im still hungover
Folks, how do you pass step 1? I tried this to my friends 3GS and its not working. Itunes.exe is there but nothing happens when running the command. Tried both windows 7 and XP. Please help.
@den
Have you tried installing the .ipcc file via itunes?
plug phone in and run itunes.
Hold shift+update.
Change the file type to .ipcc and navigate to the file saved on puter.
click save.
The only file type available so far is .ipsw, theres no .ipcc on the pull down menu.
You are on itunes 8.2?
This method worked for me since I couldn’t follow the orginal poster instructions using the cmd prompt.
@Duc, yup im on 8.2. Tried several times. Finally, it worked! Thanks.
This IPCC file desabity the MMS ,you dont have other ????
Is it true that softbank can’t monitor tethering if we use a VPN service?
I bought VPN service to watch Hulu and NetFlix on my Mac at home… the service came with a secondary vpn that was configurable with the iphone. I’ve only used it for Pandora thus far, but if I can use it while tethering and keep under the radar, it’d be much more useful! I’m a bit scared to try tethering based on the comment from ’suprised’.
@Suprised, Is this your first iPhone?
@suprised
or anyone who can read japanese from what suprised posted above. Can someone briefly translate what did means?
Mike,
Yep, my first iphone, I had done 26 months on the last contract with softbank though. Although I didn’t do a data plan with my last contract.
I will follow my friend’s gf’s advice, and go to see the shop when the invoice comes in – end of the month. Until then I am not going to worry about it too much.
Please take it as a warning though. Best to sit this stuff out and wait and see what happens.
cheers,
Surprised
Duc,
I read/speak Japanese. Here is a quick translation:
＜from softbank＞
◆Information about your packet transmission charges
This is to let you know that the estimate for your packet charges (after all discounts are taken into account), has exceeded 50,000yen.
※This is not inclusive to the basic charge/option usage fee
※Depending on the applied for packet discount service, the reality is that this notice may be sent out even when the you have not gone over the 50,000yen billed service has gone over 50,000yen (for details please read the detailed important points [at the below link])
◆To read more information regarding this notice please go to
URL: http://broadband.mb.softbank.jp/f/high2/
※For the Softbank 6-2 series the data transfer fee in required
●For information, call our company customer center at 157《Hours 9:00-20:00》
●You cannot reply to this message
By the way, I mentioned above, that the message I got from softbank is a bit convoluted, I probably should read the detailed notice, but I figure I may as well do that when I know if I need to worry about it … i.e. when the bill comes in
later,
surprised
Duc,
Sorry I didn’t proof what I wrote: Here it is proofread – with a little more time thinking about what I was reading.
＜from softbank＞
◆Information about your packet transmission charges
This is to let you know that the estimate for your packet charges (after all discounts are taken into account), has exceeded 50,000yen.
※The basic charge and option charges are not included in this number
※Depending on the applied for packet discount service, the reality is that this notice may be sent out even when the you have not gone over the 50,000yen (for details please read the detailed important points [at the below link])
◆To read more information regarding this notice please go to
URL: http://broadband.mb.softbank.jp/f/high2/
※For the Softbank 6-2 series the data transfer fee in required
●For information, call our company customer center at 157《Hours 9:00-20:00》
●You cannot reply to this message
@Duc
Here you go. If it doesn’t sound 100% natural please take it out of my pay : )
I have to agree that the wording is a little vague, but I would definitely give Softbank a call and feign some major gaijin ignorance on this one if I was him.
◆This is a notice of packet communication fees
A rough estimate of your packet communication fees (including all applicable discounts) has exceeded 50,000 yen.
※This sum does not include your basic or option fees
※This notice may be sent even if you have applied for packet discount service and the actual bill does not exceed 50,000 yen (Please confirm any relevent details)
◆Relevant details can be found at:
URL: http://broadband.mb.softbank.jp/f/high2/
※Communication fees will be charged for Softbank 6-2 Series
●IF you have any questions please call our customer service center：9:00-20:00
●You cannot reply to this e-mail
Ahhh man…. I was a little slow. Next time I try to help some fellow skimmers I should try not to forget how lazy I am.
Thanks guys for the replies. I didn’t recieve any notice like such. Maybe because I never setup the softbank email address they issued me. I like my gmail. :P
But like surprised, I only tethered for about 5 mins of skimming through pages.
I am new to the Japan mobile network and find it very different compared to the US. Nothing is free as it looks like.
I did about the same amount of tethering as you two and haven’t received a notice yet. In any case, I think it would be prudent to wait until the next round of bills are sent out until one tries tethering again.
@suprised
OK, I think the issue, if you upgrade to an iPhone you don’t have the unlimited data package right away. You have to wait until the 11th for it to kick in. If you are a new customer or upgrading from an iPhone then you get it right away.
Mike,
I am well impressed with your analysis there. I think you might be right.
This is good news, that was definitely not brought to my attention in the shop – I am sure the staff hadn’t thought of it themselves.
It does make a lot of sense though. I would hazard a guess that they will just reverse the charge. I will let you know how it turns out
Thanks Sherlock.
Cheers,
Surprised
p.s. I used to use the HTC phone, mainly as a phone and offline ebook reader and dictionary, so I was probably in the minority not to do the packet tsukaihoudai on that particular model.
My first month of iPhone was hard. I didn’t have the unlimited packets thing and it was always so tempting to just surf.
Hi, I was wondering which is better, tethering with PDANet or using the ipcc file “hack”. Reading the comments, though, it seems we’re going to have to wait to see a bit more how everyone’s experiences with hacked tethering go.
I’m mainly interested to see what the advantages of the exploit used here are over PDANet. I’ve been using PDANet for a couple of months, and it does what it says on the tin. But you have to go through the rigamarole of setting it up every time. It costs about $15. Also, there’s a bug (something supposedly to do with Apple rather than PDANet) where tethering with PDANet while plugged in via USB sometimes won’t charge your iPhone, which sucks. Does the ipcc hack have the same problem?
What are the risks of using the ipcc hack? I’m not much of an expert with this sort of thing, but I figure if I can jailbreak an iPhone with the right tutorial, I could probably do this with a decent guide…
@solonerfherder
It is very easy to do. Takes less than 2 mins if all goes well. To revert you will probably need to restore the phone unless you backup the orginal ipcc file.
I was wondering that myself. How will the provider know if 3.0 tethering was used or pdanet? As far as I know, the phone is charging willing being plug in. No setting up everytime.
Anyone knows if I qualify for the promo price of the 3GS with the following conditions?
“I would like to get the 3GS but I am only 5 months in of a 2yrs contract. However, I have paid in full for the 3G phone upfront when I signed up.”
HELP ME,my MMS dont WORK.
I live in Nagoya,my Tethering working good,but my MMS no.
What i do to correct this trouble ???????
I take my IPCC from tutorial :
5.you will be presented with a finder window. Locate the Softbank_jp.ipcc file, select it
HELP 2
I have WINDOWS,if anybody can UPLOAD the IPCC with MMS on ,i apreciated.
Help 3
i sorry for my English,i speak Portuguese !!!
BRASIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@ricardo
Try resetting your network. Goto settings, general, reset, reset network settings.
A quick update.
First thanks to everyone for your input, and Mike, your stroke of brilliance.
I went into the softbank shop a couple of nights back to confirm what Mike said. Yep, there is a gap between the notification systems showing that I am on a tsukaihoudai plan, and the registration system.
As the friendly guy at softbank said, they can’t sell the phone without the data plan, therefore I will be fine.
To put it another way, my assumptions on the warning notices about high usage being related to a quick test I did tethering were wrong. It was a different issue altogether.
Just nice to know, for peace of mind.
Final confirmation will come when I get the bill of course.
Cheers,
Surprised – at one point
Duc
@ricardo
Try resetting your network. Goto settings, general, reset, reset network settings
No changes .!!!!!!!!!!
i CAn change config about IPCC from PC-WINDOWS ?????
[b]Eric Choi
I’ve found a way too,
Basic concept was put AT&T MMS enabler and tethering enabler all at one.
On .ipcc file there’s carrier file
in carrier file I added
AllowMMSCEditing
AllowMMSEditing
AllowMMS
and
mms_proxy
mmsopen.softbank.ne.jp
mms_proxy_port
8080
mmsc
http://mms/
works totally fine now.[/b]
@ricardo
Do a clean restore of your phone, and then try to apply the ipcc file again with the above method. That ipcc file works (confirmed multiple times) for both tethering and MMS.
kurisu
That ipcc file works (confirmed multiple times) for both tethering and MMS.
My MMS work but not the Picture Funcion.
Ok,i go try again !
It all works Fantastically!
The only issues I had was that it wouldnt recognise the ipcc file at first. The pull down menu didnt seem to have the option on the first try.. so try and try again
Maddy
You can send PICTURES by SMS ?????
My Tethering is OK,but my SMS dont send PICTURES any more :(
After i installed the .ipcc ,the icon in the left side in SMS disappeared !!!!
the photografhic machine icon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D39zBxFISYo
In my Iphone in Network ,i have :
Enable 3G
Data Roaming
Internet Tethering
VPN
Wi-Fi
But in this video ,this guy have:
“”Cellular Data Network “” (look in 1:30 seconds)
@Ricardo
just curious. Was your 3G phone bought in softbank or out of Japan? The issue you are having appears to be phones that is other countries rather here.
Hi All! I’ve followed the instructions above, but when I click on the tethering, I get the message (in Japanese) “In order to activate tethering on this account, please contact Softbank.” Any suggestions?
OK…. now that tethering works…. next step. I want to use one of the “personal WiFi routers” that turns a USB Broadband connection into a WiFi Hotspot, for example to easily connect non-Bluetooth devices. There is a great one from http://www.cradlepoint.com, but I read a message somewhere that this one doesnt work with iPhone. Any ideas?
Duc
In your iphone appear this :
“”Cellular Data Network “” ????
My Iphone i bay in Japan ,Nagoya,i live here.
Before my iphone 2.2.1 Jailbreak -> 3.0 Jailbreak “”NOW”".
hello,
1.I can’t to open softbank_jp.ipcc because it is not .ipcc but softbank_jp.bundle
I installed beta version of itunes 8.2 (23)
2. I have done many times step 1, but there is no reaction, smth like this,
Last login: Sat Jul 4 20:34:02 on ttys000
FL1-119-244-222-45:~ BekNur$ defaults write com.apple.iTunes carrier-testing -bool TRUE
FL1-119-244-222-45:~ BekNur$
Please help me!
Thanks beforehand!
@bek:
You need to change the .zip file to .ipcc
@maddy
What did you do t o finally get intunes to pop up the .ipcc in the drop down menu?
Was wondering how tethering compares on the new 3Gs??? and is anyone else confused by the need for an i.softbank address a softbank mms address and whatever else you use aswell he he he…
@stryker just reset your phone…
@RicardoYou can ignore my instructions and discussion about Cellular Data Network tab. To see this tab, you need to edit the carrier plist file and add AllowEDGEEditng. ”
@Bec try using firefox instead of safari to DL the ipcc file!
I don’t know what happen but the only thing I did was to update itunes from .10 .23 on 8.2. Now I can’t see the .ipcc file on the drop down menu.
I tried manually running with this prompt in windows but I get an error.
‘C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunes.exe /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1′
I can run itunes with this, however.
‘C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunes.exe’
Is there something I did wrong?
ali
Hey brother thanks a lot, I’ve done by using firefox
do you know anything about billing by softbank?
One more thank you.
@bek
Thems are the breaks!
There seems to have been quite a lot of panic and hysteria about potential high bills at the end of the month! But using MySoftbank users can monitor their billing statement online…
The tethering and it’s potential impact on cost is still rather unknown, as the upgrade to 3.0 and this hack ipcc only came into effect in June… It is of course dependent on your “packet data plan”
I use a lot of “data” and pay a fixed fee of 4000 yen even though my actual bill often exceeds 100, 000 yen … I would advise caution and limited use until we know for sure the cost implication, I would however say that for me there seems to have been no noticeable change, I have however been erring on the side of caution!
happy iPhoning
@ali
Thanks a lot.
God bless you.
@Ricardo : I made this ipcc file for non-jailbroken iPhone 3G.
If you jailbreak your phone and my file doesn’t work, then you’re on your own. Sorry.
I’m not going to start checking every single possible scenario out there just to be nice.
You want to use the hack on this page, then follow the instructions and it will work on a stock iPhone 3G with 3.0 software.
@Bek : After you type the command line in Terminal, you will not have any message, you will simply be returned to the prompt. If you have no error message that means the command line worked.
@Duc
At first if I remember correctly I couldnt get it to work.. I think it has to do with the string “C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunes.exe /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1″
More specifically the setPrefInt bit. I was always putting in setPrefLnt and not Int. I had left the command window open and just repeated the command randomly.. eventually it worked..
kurisu
Ok ,I try restore the OFICIAL FIRMWARE 3.0 Again .(no Jailbreak)
Thank you to help me.
I just want to thank you very much!.
感激！ 感動しすぎて涙が出そうだった！ （笑）。
ありがとう！
Go to My Softbank and check this month’s bill for the good news.
Well, so far no extra charges in my June bill.. :)
@dinky
what is the good news for all the non Japanese who can’t read Japanese? :P
@Duc: as stated by Fabri.
Wanted to say a quick thank you! I applied this the first day it was available and it’s been working great! I wonder why some have been having problems with MMS and others haven’t…?
I do have a question though, from yesterday (7/12) the emoji keyboard is causing my i.softbank.jp and MMS mail to quit back to the home screen. I can’t seem to access emoji at all and have had to turn off the keyboard so I can type mails using these accounts. Anyone else having issues with this? I can’t imagine this issue could be tied to this tethering hack, but wanted to check. If others could pls let me know. Thanks!
@aj
I had similar issues with iemoji & twitterrific but seems fine with the other apps. I didn’t tested fully though. There are different versions of iemoji & all seems to lag & hang when typing only on twitterrific app. My phone is JB/ unlock but don’t think it matters much.
Figured out the keyboard thing. Thanks Duc!
I had another question about tethering though. Does anyone use the free wifi offered to iPhone customers at McDonalds? It only works with the mobile safari browser on the iPhone. But I was able to connect to it, turn tethering on and I could access the Internet on my laptop!! This is a pretty safe way to use te tethering feature, right? We’re not using softbank’s network.
Sorry, I’m 100% newb when it comes to most of this.
Windows users hold the shift key while clicking.
Thanks for redoing the file! 39!
I got the tethering option coming up on my iphone, just cant get my mac to use its connection. Any ideas? I go into System Prefrences, then Network, but I canot see my iphone there. Where exactly do I select it? Thanx
Just a quick update for everyone.
My phone bill was 8300yen – which is nice to know. I only tried the tethering for a few minutes, but it doesn’t seem to have registered
thnx to everyone for their help
(no longer) Surprised
Think this will affect us on softbank’s network as well?
http://i.tuaw.com/2009/07/14/ipcc-tethering-trick-no-longer-works-in-iphone-os-3-1-beta-2/
Well, everything I have read looks like the upgrade disables tethering enabled via the IPCC file. i will avoid upgrading as long as possible. The 3.0 is just fine with me.
The 3.1 beta 2 version disabled softbank IPCC hack on my 3GS…
Thank you. I had better buy my 3GS before they distribute 3.1 as the standard! Having tethering is more important than 3.1.
Hi,surprised
Thank you for sharing your experience.
Could you tell me that finally how much you payed on packet?
guys i some some quention i using pdanet and using my iphone like a o modem and i have stupid unlimited packet plan if i still downloading movies… using torrent or watching 24h youtube i have to pay for all this hell packets ?
help me guys… if i have pay more than… stupid 4,200 yen plan packet … omg my mother will kill me –’
why would you ever want to download torrents on your tethered iPhone is beyond me
no one that I know of has been charged yet, but no one is stupid enough to use their iPhone as they would their home fiber connection
i know i stupid… but.. its to late.. soo … omg i will die
Thanks a lot!!!
UPDATE: I updated my 3G iPhone that was tethering ok with IPCC file and bum ! It still working on 3.1 beta 2 and today on beta 3 ! Now for my 3GS i can’t test it now since my friend drawn it into he’s pool !! I will get new one tomorrow that will come with 3.0 and will update IPCC and then update to 3.1 beta 3 to see if on 3GS it will still working like my 3G “old” one. so good news people !!
Awesome, thanks Fabri.
I also confirm that another trick works fine and dandy : restore from a 3.0 backup in which tethering has been activated with the ipcc file.
Hopefully Apple won’t be too keen on closing that loophole by only accepting signed ipcc files.
Can not get this to work on 16GB 3GS (3.0 OS) I bought yesterday (7/29). Tried *many* times.
At first, by default, there is no “internet tethering” option in settings. After applying the .ipcc there is a “Set Up Internet Tethering”, but it just says to contact Softbank.
Also, it appears that the .ipcc breaks cellular browsing in general, because after I apply it, I always get “Could not activate cellular data network.”
Tried this several times, only to end up restoring each time.
Eventually just gave up and have jailbroken the thing, will try it that way.
Is the charge for receiving MMS mail NOT covered by the unlimited data package? I’m still not clear on this.
Can anyone who’s been using this tethering hack for a while (well over a month) confirm that it did not impact their phone bill (i.e., no unexpected huge charge)?
Did anyone try to tether with iPhoneOS 3.0.1, the update issued to fix SMS vulnerability?
Answer to my own question:
Yes, tethering does work with 3.0.1.
Thanks for that dinky. Much appreciated!
UPDATE 2: Got new iPhone 3GS with 3.0 and installed IPCC file. Works normally. But then i updated to 3.1 beta 3 ( i’m developer ) and it stops to work. The tethering option is no longer available. So, IPCC file will not work on 3.1 version even if you update from 3.0 with tethering working. my 3G iPhone also is not working on 3.1.. no joy :(
No effect yet on my bill with the tethering. Regular bill. My usage is about 200,000 yen per month and has been as high as 400,000. I dont tether alot. Bill is the same.
Just a confirmation that the 3.0.1 software update does not affect the ipcc hack for tethering. No problems at all.
Doesn’t work for my iphone 3G with 3.0. When I try to tether it says … OMG IT JUST STARTED WORKING AFTER SAYING IT WASN’T SUPPORTED.
Does using this give you a higher bill??
Got a question for AL, you said you are paying 200,000 yen~ 400,000 yen? is that after the discounts or before discounts, what plan are you on? from what I read you should be paying max 12,000 yen, this is my first iphone I used about 3 hours of light tethering every week since I got it 2 weeks ago, just a bit curious, why so high?
I think I’m in trouble this what I used this month
ホワイトプラン
音声通話料
1,210円
メール通信料
0円
パケット通信料
1,013,062円….here it’s always 200,000~400,000
I can’t sleep,
Nancy
Nathan… When I said 200-400,000 per month I meant that’s my usage and NOT my bill. My packet bill is unchanged on the “unlimited” plan at somewhere around 4200 yen per month. As you know, Softbank shows your usage then subtracts it all. My point is that I am a fairly “heavy” user of the packet service but occasional tethering has had NO effect on my bill. Now, if my usage went way up suddenly, it may be possible that would raise a red flag at Softbank.
i guess my bill is up to 1.5mil yen now… so, nancy you can sleep while i keep my eyes open.
although last month, it was 0.6mil and i got charged 1% of that.
I heard from a friend that he got charged 40,000yen and 50,000yen for 2 months for “PC Packets” because he was using an unlocked iPhone from the States. Anyone ever get charged for these “PC Packets” from Softbank for tethering?
AL, thank you so much for the info I was a bit scare when you said 400,000yen thank you for the clarification :) Nathan
SO the billing issue? has anyone been charged more then the max 4200¥ on the unlimited plan (softbank whiteplan) for data?
i just got the 32gig gs and was thinking of jail breaking for use in other counties, but i am worried about in japan use.
any recent experience.
I am not asking what the usage charges listed on the bill. i am asking what the final bill is for data usage using a softbank jail broken phone?
I had trouble with Bluetooth tethering in the past, which I think was on the mac side not the iphone side. The 10.5.8 upgrade fixed the problem, and I can now Bluetooth tether with no difficulty.
I have not read anywhere yet that the billed data charges are above the usual rate for Softbank for people who are tethering. So, you guys can calm down and enjoy the technology till it gets blocked somehow.
Actually, both my June and July bills were higher than average… Prior bills were always about ¥10100. June was about ¥13000 and July was ¥11200. Keep in mind I have only used tethering on two or three occasions just for testing.
I need to review my bill in more detail online. It’s sooo kryptic, but I don’t want to go into Softbank and ask questions for fear of getting nailed because of tethering!
You guys are absolutely fantastic! Works for me!
Guys – got the tethering up and running perfect. Not a single problem so far. I now have a cracked, hacked, jailbroken and tethered iPhone 32GB 3GS
Cant possibly love it any more than I already do.
I dropped my first on in the river 2 days after getting it and the guys at Apple felt sorry for me and swapped me out a brand new one right there on the spot. How lucky am I!?
The sickest gadget available today.
I honestly believe Apple likes the fact that so much hacking is going on with the iPhone – not the carriers of course but they don’t make the device. I’m sure Apple people have a bit of a laugh to themselves when they see how much can be done by the ordinary hacker.
On topic, I will be using tethering when I am on the go with the PC – a great way to use my phone as a mobile roaming 3G connection go between – and even better, now that it is jailbroken and ultrasn0w’d, available to me on any SIM in the world!
Thanks for the help guys!
Hello, I have had this Hack for about 6 weeks now and my bills have actually not changed at all. My last bill was actually smaller by about 1000 yen! This is incredible. Even though I only use the internet tethering for browsing the net with my laptop and not downloading a lot, this is still spot on!
this may not be related but will post it here anyway. Does anyone know how to disable cellular internet on Softbank iPhone 3G with 3.0 firmware?
you go to “Preferences / General / Network” and disable roaming
this will disable all internet use while roaming outside of Softbank’s network, which is what I assume you wish to do…
Thanks for the tip W00kie. I have found what I was looking for. I have successfully disabled the cellular internet using an apn-disabler mobileconfig file. Now I’ll be paying 1000+ yen instead of the 4000+ yen softbank packet flat rate. Will use wifi for unlimited internet going forward. Here is the link for more info : http://brent.kearneys.ca/2008/07/21/iphone-20-how-to-disable-cellular-internet-access/
I gave this a try and for some reason it doesn’t seem to work. My Mac just gets a self-assigned IP address from the v3.0.1 jailbreaked iPhone after I enabled tethering. Any idea why?
Hi guys and gals,
Does any know, whether the iPhone 3.1.1 OS will disable the tethering on the softbank iPhones or not?
Much obliged
According to http://www.iphonewzealand.co.nz/2009/telecom/warning-for-xt-users-iphone-os-3-1-disables-tethering/
If tethering is important to you, hold off on updating the firmware and cross your fingers for a workaround to show up.
F.Y.I.
The 3.1.1 update disabled tethering on my phone.
Haven’t had time to try reapply the settings though.
Tried reapplying the file. No joy.
So if we don’t update to 3.1, do you think we can still safely tether? I found a comment on this blog post: http://i.tuaw.com/2009/09/09/first-look-tuaw-gives-iphone-os-3-1-the-hands-on-treatment/1#comments (comment #5) that mentions something about two way authorization.
Now that it’s been “officially” disabled, I wonder if softbank will start cracking down…?
Ok people, 1st of all, I confirm it works on iPhone 3GS devices that were successfully activated under 3.0 with the custom ipcc file.
I also confirm it will NOT work for people who jailbroke their iPhone (that should be obvious !!! but some people don’t seem to understand that…)
I am now trying to upgrade an old iPhone 3G running 3.0 to which I applied the custom ipcc. More feedback in a few minutes.
Upgrading from 3.0 to 3.1 on old iPhone 3G, tethering option still there ! I can’t understand why some of you have lost the tethering option in the network menu.
AGAIN, please remember : My experience is on VANILLA 3.0 (and 3.01) to which the custom softbank.ipcc was applied. Upgrading to 3.1 (not restore!!) from iTunes 9.0 yielded perfectly functional iPhones (both 3G and 3GS) WITH tethering still activated.
If you jailbroke your iPhone, I am sorry but you are ON YOUR OWN !
OK, I got it… the option will STILL SHOW UP until you actually try to use the function ! Then it will vanish from the menu. Thanks to @psychedelicMod for the help in tracking this down !
Sorry folks !!!
IF YOU WANT TO KEEP USING TETHERING, LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE TO STAY ON 3.0.1 !!!
hello @psychedelicMod here, for those of you (like me) who have upgraded to 3.1 but want to downgrade back to an earlier version of the firmware, say 3.0.1 for tethering you may not be able to simply by restoring to an earlier backup…
for a mini youtube tutorial check this boy genius
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD6wti-ayOs
be careful to follow the text links in the “more info” section! This should enable you to revert back to 3.0.1 and then tether!
There are two files in the link, the firmware itself and a windows QuickPwn file for the fix… if you (like me) run a mac you can either parallel or use this QuickPwn file instead…
http://www.zshare.net/download/517216491efea4ed/
I would suggest allowing yourself a bit of time to do this and also watch the tutorial a couple of times…
good luck! Bring back tethering and let’s hope kurisu and I kidnap Steve Jobs for some signed ipcc files
Thank you Rob, Arigato Kurisu, the 3.0.1 is a keeper, there’s nothing in 3.1 is worth sacrificing the tethering for, ganbarimas
Thanks for this VERY useful info.
I hope to see info for tethering in 3.1 …
I really need some 3.1 APIs!
anyone try ali’s solution?
I tried Ali’s solution. I managed to brick my phone and had to take it to Softbank who wiped it losing some data in the process.
Obviously I’m not a fan.
@DocC very sorry to hear you had trouble downgrading…
when you say bricked your phone could you explain… at what point in the process did it shut down and was a reset not possible?
there are a few other downgrade tutorials out there but as with all of this it is very much at your own risk…
I wonder if there is another issue that caused your problem however… as it is known to work for others… hmm…
I have heard some mac users having trouble with iTunes 9, and also know that restarting from a backup may not work either…
when you took it to softbank, what did they do/say?
@docc
did you have to pay for a new phone?
if not, did you leave the store with a phone running 3.0 or 3.1?
So, there’s still no evidence of SoftBank charging anybody anything extra for using tethering, right?
Is there anybody who bought a 3G (not a 3GS) more than a few months ago (before the iPhone for everybody campaign) who has used a substantial chunk of data using tethering and still hasn’t gotten a high bill?
Just wondering because the only thing I’m gonna use tethering for in the foreseeable future is to watch a video stream for about 4 hours on one day and it could end up being somewhere near 1GB.
Note to everyone: As of right now, it is NOT possible to downgrade an iPhone 3GS from 3.1 to 3.0. Beware! Only an iPhone 3G can be downgraded, not an iPhone 3GS.
Also, can anyone verify that upgrading from 10.6 to 10.6.1 does not break tethering?
Thanks
Today I have noticed MMS suddenly stopped working. Did Softbank get into dirty game of “implicitly” blackmailing users to update to 3.1 or loose MMS?
Sorry, I can’t really tell you when the phone bricked. I was doing my best to follow the instructions. It didn’t work on the first and perhaps, second try, and I just kept trying. At some point it just locked up and wouldn’t start at all.
No, I didn’t have to pay for a new phone. My Japanese is marginal at best, i have no idea what the guy at Softbank said or thought. I just walked in, and handed him the phone and said “Mondai” He plugged it in, played with for a couple of minutes and then came to me and said “Wipe”. I said OK. When I left Softbank they had installed 3.1.
F.Y.I. It works fine now, just no tethering.
Anyone experiencing same issue that Dinky has? Is it true that tethering no longer works? Im still at 3.0 but doesn’t have a laptop I can use to test at the moment.
I have 2 iPhones on 3.0 and both are still able to tether.
Thanks a bunch for confirming. Great to know it’s still working. :)
@Den
I have not said that the tethering stopped working – it was MMS that stopped.
@Stupod
Try sending MMS to your 3.0.1 tethering-enabled iPhone number from a non-iPhone device to see whether you still receive the MMS.
@dinky
Sorry, I’m still on 3.0. MMS to and from other iPhones and non-iPhones still works on both my 3.0 iPhones.
@Stupod
Thanks for the confirmation. I will try resetting etc.
AT&T is going to allow VOIP in iPhone – any hope that Softbank will do it too?
Hey guys!
First of all thank you for putting such an effort in this kind of topic.
Before I try doing tethering I have a far bigger issue (for me).
I have a iPhone I bought in Switzerland (prepaid iPhone). I jailbraiked it and used ultrasn0w to unlock the simlock. It worked fine, for more than a year with a german contract.
Here in Japan, i got the Softbank sim card from a friend who has the White Plan Family Plan.
I changed to Unlimited Packet Discount S and Internet, TXT/MMS, Calling was all working perfectly fine for over a week. I woke up last morning and noticed that the blue 3G symbol on top of the screen had disappeared. From this time onwards I can neither make phone calls nor use the internet or send TXT/MMS on my iPhone.
I really don’t know what to do, so please help me.
P.S.: When I put my german Sim Card in and activate “Data Roaming” the blue 3G symbol appears again and I’m able to use all connective functions.
Sorry, just one correction: I changed the Plan to “Packet Flat-Rate Full” not to “Unlimited Packet Discount S”.
Thank you.
@Konni
That sounds like a problem very different from the one being discussed in these comments. I think your question would be better asked somewhere like here:
http://www.mobileinjapan.com/group/iphoneinjapan/forum
Thank you very much for your quick answer, Stupod.
Today I found out what happened: SoftBank locked up my account.
My bill is 180 000¥!!! As a volunteer just earning 60 000¥ a month this is a big problem.
They said that even though I had a Packet Full Flatrate the iPhone was recognized as a PC and therefore charged normally.
Is there anything I can do about it? Please help!
@Konni
Again, I think it’d be better if you posted about this at http://www.mobileinjapan.com/group/iphoneinjapan/forum partly because this page of comments is on a different subject, but mostly because the issue you’re talking about has been discussed before on mobileinjapan. From what I’ve read, using an unlocked non-SoftBank iPhone on the SoftBank network means they charge you the full rate. It’s bad. Really bad. I don’t know of any way of easily publicising this so that people like yourself don’t get into this situation so I suppose it’s gonna happen a lot. Anyway, add a forum post on mobileinjapan and I’m sure somebody will be able to advise you on what the deal is. I have a feeling it’s bad news though…
Wow, this thread got longer since the last time I posted. So it seems ver 3.1 looses tethering. Anyone tried 3.1.2?
Yea, I’ve been wondering the same thing! I’ve been hanging tough with 3.0.1 waiting to see if anyone has found the magic key to unlock tethering on 3.1.2! What’s stopping it? An new IPCC file for 3.1.? Has the iPhone system software been modified so much that that’s no longer the issue?
there is a way to get around the 3.1 update, but you have to have the thethering running when you do the update and it will stay there, but this has been done in the USA from what I know and it works, but not sure if it would work with softbank, if anyone has an extra one could be worth a try
natedog:
kurisu may have tried that already. Read couple of posts up. He said he upgraded his firmware but when he went to use it, the feature disappears. That is how I read it.
yep, but looks like he did it without the teathering running, meaning without it functioning and then when he went to try it out it did not work, what I ment by “ON” is as if you were browing a page from your computer while using the tethering on your iphone, then while having itunes open you run the update, the phone will still be teathering while it updates and that’s how they did it in the usa, not sure if it will work on japan
so i updated my 3gs to 3.1.2 and ran the new version of pwnage to jailbreak my device but i have not found anything that re-enables tethering even with a jailbroken phone.
any updates?
Here’s a blogpost detailing how to re-activate tethering after pwning 3.1.2
it’s not directly detailed for Softbank but there should be enough information in the comments here to figure it out
Sorry, I don’t have a mac. The instructions says it is for a mac only.
It looks like we have to ssh into the phone and copy the modded file and change the permission? Can’t we do that on a PC aswell?
download a PC SSH client, the best is “putty”
you also have to cat the files together. there is an exe version of bspatch and the rest is pretty easy.
i should note that i did try this and it didnt work. when i downloaded a seperate mobileconfig and selected tethering it told me to contact softbank.
the benM website was updated today to note that he/she is working on an update for 3.1 so it might just be a compatibility issue with 3.0 mobileconfig files…
I have been using MiWi and it works on 3.1. It is awesome. 10 bucks. It makes a wifi spot. It is much easier to use than pdanet and uses less battery. Also, you can leave the app and use other apps. It has a bluebar on the top when you are using it, like when you are in a phone call and you open another app.
I just looked for MiWi on the Japan iTunes Store and couldn’t find it. Is this app. somewhere else?
You won’t find it in appstore but its available in cydia / rock your phone under system category. You must be jailbroken.
Here is a breif description of this app:
All users have new 10 day trial!
Create a WiFi HotSpot with a press of a finger! Wherever you are - you can connect your laptop or other mobile device to your iPhone easily! You can also use MyWi to enable default USB/Bluetooth Tethering on 3.1!
Features:
- Create WiFi Hotspot to connect mutiple laptops or mobile devices to share your iPhone’’s internet connection
- 40 bit and 104 bit WEP Security to prevent others from accessing your WiFi HotSpot
- Ability to enable USB and Bluetooth Tethering on your iPhone as well
- Uses less battery and much faster then PdaNet due to native routing
- Broadcasts the Network Name (SSID) - no need to fuss with creating an adhoc network on your laptop
- Enable iPhone USB/Bluetooth tethering - even on firmware 3.1!
- Shows up and down bandwith usage
and does not say if it works on the softbank network either, as far as it looks, works on At&T, but softbank may have a different way of incription, so who kow!
and is called MyWi not MiWi that is why is hard to find online
Easy Tethering for 3.1.2
You can tether 3.1.2. Today I upgraded to 3.1.2 with iTunes and used Blackra1n RC3 to jailbreak (Win7).
- After that use cydia and search for iphone-notes.de
- Add the Repo
- Search for tethering 3g – 3.12 (or 3gs)
- Install and Reboot
- Then install carrier settings
- Got the info from here http://freeek.jp/blog/iphone/1256/
Most important part. No 3rd part apps and cost is free :) just like the old 3.0.
sno00bysnacks:
Would I still need to use blackra1n if I use a custom firmware on 3.1.2 that is JB already? Can I just install tethering for 3G and install the carrier settings?
No issue with your phone after a reboot? The tethering menu is still there and you don’t lose wifi as I have read on the net?
Thanks.
I must have really been lucky then. I updated to 3.1.2 with itunes, and then used blackra1n (the regular one with no RC) to jailbreak my iphone 3g. I didn’t loose any tethering settings or network carrier entry settings…
dagodsha:
If you updated instead of restore, you may have been lucky. Is it still there after a cycle of the on/off button?
Hi people!
I’m in Musashino and bought 3GS a couple days ago. Now I have two softbank iPhone, the new 32Gig and the 3G I bought last year from softbank. I’d like to use MyWi to tether the 3G for some games, and also my laptop when I’m at starbucks working on my book.
It seems that PDAnet users have stayed under the radar for months, but has everyone been using MyWi successfully under 3.1.2 without huge bills? Thanks :)
Well, I followed sn00by’s instructions and I couldn’t get the thing to work. Gave up and started using PDAnet again (^_^) Would love to get back the old carrier settings hack, though…
Hi this is my first post here. I got an iphone last week and Jailbroke it yesterday. I bought for the sole reason of connecting it up to my hpmini 1000. Put on PDAnet today and it all works fine, can someone say what the big difference is between tethering which this iphone has no screen for and the pdanet software that seems to do the same thing? Im new to all this, so be a bit patient with me.
I had no idea until I started reading these posts that we werent supposed to be doing this tethering with softbank, Im a bit pissed about it really because as I said thats a big reason why I wanted the iphone.
Anybody been hit with a massive bill? Should have known the 6,000 yen unlimited internet use maximum charge was too good to be true !!!
I’m sorry to tell you this now but if the only reason you bought the iPhone was for tethering, you should have taken an eMobile data plan
http://emobile.jp/charge/
i got it working!!! it was actually a cleaver little hack i pieced together from various sources. long story short — the hack works by using the files from mywi to enable teathering then manually deleting mywi leaving the options in place.
im typing now on 3.1.2 tethered to my ubuntu 9.10 netbook via bluetooth with no problems what so ever
Step 1: Goto Cydia, search for “MyWi” app and install it. MyWi will also install “RockApp” as a part of its package. Install RockApp manually if it isn’t installed automatically with MyWi app.
Step 2: Now start RockApp and create a free Rock ID for yourself.
Step 3: Sign in using this ID in RockApp and you should now see an update to MyWi app. Restart your iPhone once the update has been successfully installed.
Step 4: Start MyWi app and turn on the option for USB/Bluetooth tethering.
Step 5: Now simply navigate to Settings->General->Network->Internet Tethering on your iPhone and turn on the toggle for Internet Tethering.
Step 6: open terminal
Step 7: type su and enter password. if you changed your root password (you DID change your root password RIGHT?) put that in, otherwise, for the retarded, type alpine. a finger swipe south west will tab-complete. id highly recommend typing passwd and changing your root after you login. new iphone worms get around by jailbroken iphones with unchanged root passwords.
Step 8: cd /private/var/stash/Applications
Step 9: rm -rf Rock.app and rm -rf MyWi.app
Step 10: hard restart your Iphone.
if you blacksn0w-ed your jailbreak you will need to rerun the break. if you are smart, and did the pwnage jailbreak, your free to go.
dont contact me about problems if you cannot get this working. im a busy man and dont have time to respond to people who hack their phones but cannot run rm. sorry. for those of you who can follow this, it works fantastically.
I want to try this but can someone please explain steps 8 and 9 please.
you need to have the terminal application installed to make this hack work. search cydia.
I also recommend running MyWi on the free trial just to make sure everything is good to go. Although it is a paid app, it’s a pretty damn awesome app, so if you can spare the dollars i say just stick with MyWi.
OTHERWISE —>
after you have successfully installed and TESTED MyWi
open terminal
type the following
su — enter your password. if you haven’t changed your root password, you will type in “alpine” — if you HAVE changed your password, type that in now.
!!!!!——–!!!!
if you havent changed your password, type
passwd
and change “alpine” to something different.
!!!!!——–!!!!
cd /private/var/stash/Applications
rm -rf Rock.app
rm -rf MyWi.app
hard reboot your phone. you should still have tethering listed under network. enjoy!
Guys, just download MyWi from Rock after you jailbreak your phone, and you can either try it for free for 10 days or you can go a head and pay for it, a one time payment of 916 Yen, according to the rate of exchange of today which is equivelant to $9.99.
A money (if you can call 916yen in Japan money) well spent.
Good luck, and let me know if anyone needs help.
Brian,
thanks for the extra info. I’m going to try it when I get home tonight (haven’t got my netbook with me now).
I want to try this because I have used pdanet a number of times and it worked, but the last time I lost all data access on the ip address. I thought for a few scary hours that Softbank had cut me off but after a phonecall they told me to just reset network preferences (I checked everywhere on the phone but didnt scroll down so missed that)
This worked great!! I can connect via bluetooth now. Havent worked out the setting on win 7 to do USB yet but I prefer the bluetooth anyway.
I removed the apps you mentioned but not with the terminal as it kept returning with an unknown file error. I actually used another program that I have (sorry I forgot the name Im at work now) for connecting to the iPhone via ssh. I went in an just deleted those 2 shown in the exporer type window after finding them under private/var/stash/Applications(there were some other numbers here)
Rock.app was titled RockApp.app in mine
It seemed to still work fine. Those apps are gone and the bluetooth/usb/wifi options remain in the settings pane.
I was using it most of last night, works great,
Thanks for this, really appreciate it.
I finally restored to 3.1.2 on my 3G and have enabled native tethering. Here is my method on how I got it to work.
Note: I used a custom 3.1.2 firmware; thus, I didn’t have to run blackra1n etc… But, I don’t think it matters. You will need to have a jailbroken phone, however.
You will need this mobileconfig file.
http://www.mediafire.com/?nuyyyztmdtt
Tethering on 3.1.2
-Upload the file ‘jp_softbank_iphonepacket_usims.mobileconfig’ to your iphone email account. (You will need this file later)
-Run Cydia
-Install iphone-notes.de repo (located in cydia tab; more package sources)
-Search for ‘tethering 3XX-3.1.2 (xx depends if you have G or GS)
-Install app and reboot phone.
-On your phone goto to your email account where you upload the mobileconfig file and double click on the file.
-Click install
-Goto settings, general,network and click on the tethering tab. If all is good you will have a new tab that says ‘Internet Tethering’ much like the one that was on 3.0.1.
-You should be good to go.
Hey Duc,
I am assuming that after doing all of this and you have to restore your phone to 3.1.2 once again you will lose the ability to do tethering?
I am still using 3.0.1 with Tethering and no way in hell I am moving to 3.1 until there’s a more Permanent fix, is anyone else out there still on 3.0.1? any new charges since you been using after they release the update to 3.1? would be nice to know, thanks!!!
Yes in short. But you can always reapply the file.
Hi natedog, yea, like you, I’m still running 3.0.1 and haven’t found anything unusual about my monthly bills. Everything is remaining stable. (^o~)
Ive been using mine quite a bit over the last couple of days. I rang softbank to ask about my bill and they say its under 4,000 yen at the momment (thats including the price of the iphone) so it seems its not showing up on softbank.
The MyFi way works perfectly on my 3.1. All you have to do is just install Mifi the just delete it from the system and it will leave behind the tethering. It’s very very simple. It’s so good Ive chucked the PDAnet already (I like being able to see the transfers info left behind from the MyFi.
I havent worked out which is faster , to do it by Usb or bluetooth, Ill get to that this weekend.
I initially only went over to the iphone for the tethering but I must admit Im loving this phone! The free skype over 3g back to England and friends in Greece is amazing.
The USB Drive app (though slow to copy to and from) makes the iphone perfect for me now.
Yeah I had a jailbreak failure and had to restore and rejailbreak and did just that this time….removing mywi after enabling tethering. Works great.
On which is faster — technically Bluetooth has a max transfer rate of around 3mbps which doesn’t interfere with the speeds I am getting (around 260k/s) BUT I live in the inaka so it might just be my network connection. I’d test USB but I use Linux and don’t feel like messing with it too much. There are no native iPhone drivers so I don’t think it will work.
I’d be curious to see what others get though!!
I want the IPCC to IPHONE 3G 3.1.2 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who have this file ???
Yea Ricardo, I’m wondering the same thing!
you can download them direct from apple with itunes. just look in the cache folder after you do an update. if you want a custom firmware, you need an iphone to boot it. thats why you run pwnage tool to deliver the jailbreak payload and then upload the custom firmware to your now jailbroken iphone. if you dont have a mac, get one, or use the tethered jailbreak known as blackra1n, which doesnt need firmware files.
hi is anyone online, i need advise. i used blackrain and mywi. My bill for the last 2 mos was fine-considering the unlimited plan with sotbank iphone 3g. Today I listened to an auto reponse on *55555 to check on recent bill, it said almost 5K$. Is this possble. My heart is almost so hard that i can harly breathe. I am so worried. Does tethering cost this much?
Hi Lou, did you buy this phone from softbank directly?
500,000 yen? I think it is impossible. Also, softbank have to inform you by email if you spend more than 30,000 yen. I think there is a mistake , stop worrying.
Ring 157 in the morning and get a live human being to tell you your bill so far this month.
The recent bill you heard through the auto response or check at My Softbank website is only ‘gaisan’ – rough estimate before apply the Teigaku-full discount, right?
I also use blackrain and mywi.
Yesterday I receive my 1st bill from Softbank for iphone, total 5,462Y :-)
“natedog
I am still using 3.0.1 with Tethering and no way in hell I am moving to 3.1 until there’s a more Permanent fix, is anyone else out there still on 3.0.1? any new charges since you been using after they release the update to 3.1? would be nice to know, thanks!!!”
Mate, this is easy as piss. I even bricked my iPhone, did a fresh install, updated to 3.1.2, re-jailbroke, installed cydia, rock and all the programs I lost and then realized I was missing tethering. I look this site back up and then see the post that Brian has made – go to Rock and download MyWi, worked like a charm!
I didnt even have to go into SSH! I installed the app, turned on wifi in the settings and it worked.
It just worked right away. You won’t have anything to worry about. Just make sure you have a current backup of all your apps and data on an EHD and also make sure Cydia has a backup of your SHSH.
You’re now home and hosed. :)
“natedog
I am still using 3.0.1 with Tethering and no way in hell I am moving to 3.1 until there’s a more Permanent fix, is anyone else out there still on 3.0.1? any new charges since you been using after they release the update to 3.1? would be nice to know, thanks!!!”
Mate, this is easy as piss. I even bricked my iPhone, did a fresh install, updated to 3.1.2, re-jailbroke, installed cydia, rock and all the programs I lost and then realized I was missing tethering. I look this site back up and then see the post that Brian has made – go to Rock and download MyWi, worked like a charm!
I didnt even have to go into SSH! I installed the app, turned on wifi in the settings and it worked.
It just worked right away. You won’t have anything to worry about. Just make sure you have a current backup of all your apps and data on an EHD and also make sure Cydia has a backup of your SHSH.
Yes zildog, I’m still using 3.0.1 with tethering turned on. I agree – until there is an easier, permanent fix for 3.1.?, I’m going to stay with what I’ve got and not upgrade. I’m not into the idea of jailbreaking my iPhone. I like it pretty much the way it is. If any of you guys find a way of activating tethering WITHOUT jailbreaking, it would be much appreciated!
Guys, just follow this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sJ9minltfA
doesn’t matter with version you have. Internet tethering with softbank with work as well if you follow this.
no edo, as soon as you refresh your packages mywi will see that your trial has expired and revert back to the old settings.
I finally bit the bullet and upgraded my non-jailbroken phone from 3.0.1 (with tethering enabled) to 3.1.2. I needed the latest firmware to run a couple of apps I wanted to buy, and figured I’d sacrifice tethering.
Lo and behold, tethering is STILL available to me! I’m not sure why, I did a straightforward upgrade to 3.1.2 through iTunes, but the tethering preference is still there in the network settings, and it works.
I’m curious if anyone else upgrading directly from 3.0.1 to 3.1.2 had the same experience.
Guys,
I followed your instruction and start tethering using my I phone 3G for about 2 hours. When I checked the bill using my softbank account the packet data cost me about 200000 yen ? Will they charge the packet to me? I’ll be broke if i pay all of it. Anyone with the same experience ?
I think my problem is the same as Lou. Lou… how much softbank charge you ?
Guys please confirm tethering using iphone is safe or not ?
Tethering is safe. Geez, so much needless worrying…/,._/
Just don’t pop up on the radar and you’ll be fine. This has already been said many, many times. In other words, download a movie at your own risk, lol.
It’s very easy if you don’t want to pay for MyWi. Use Cydia and add a source. You should know what this source is. If you don’t, you must use your noobish skills to find it.
Once that’s in, you’ll have access to the cracked version of MyWi.
Job done.
Now quit worrying!
Blitz, what the hell were you doing in that 2 hours?
d/L’ing pr0n? Dude, use tethering for lite web surfing only – nothing should be d/l’ed under any tether.
Simple as that.
They’ll pwn ur ass if they find you as they may have already done.
U sure its not a packet charge? The bill is 200k?
thats just plain not true. i use my iphone/tethering like its my home network connection and i’ve yet to see any bill over max-packet
So, did anyone figure out how to make this work with 3.1.4? My iPhone is jailbroken and updated with pwnagetool, and I don’t think I can go back to 3.0 to get this tethering to work…onegai-shimasu
Hi guys, well, I did it! I made the jump to jailbreak! Nottoohairy (and others!), here’s how I almost effortlessly got tethering back.
#1 = I upgraded from 3.0.1, w/tethering turned on, to 3.1.2 in iTunes on my MacBook. The tethering, of course, disappeared. No surprises there.
#2 = I followed the simple instructions on “The iPhone blog” about jailbreaking the iPhone 3G & 3GS with “blackra1n.”
http://www.theiphoneblog.com/2009/11/22/jailbreak-unlock-iphone-3g3gs-blacksn0w-mac-edition/
#3 = At the end of those instructions, I chose to install Cydia. Rock also is available.
#4 = At this point, my iPhone had been jailbroken and with it, I logged onto Cydia, found the program “MyWi” and installed it. Rock was also installed at the same time.
#5 = I opened Rock and found, on the main screen, the option “MyWi – Tether 3.1″ and clicked on that.
#6 = I then made a Rock I.D. and chose to pay for MyWi. For the paltry sum of $9.99 (918.73 yen at today’s exchange rate!!!), I stuck a crowbar in my wallet and gladly paid for this excellent little program!
#7 = Then, with the program now registered, I opened up MyWi on my iPhone 3G and turned on “USB and Bluetooth” tethering at the bottom of the screen.
#8 = Lastly, I closed the program, opened Settings>General>Network> and there it was – “Internet Tethering!” I clicked it, thus turning it on – and I was done!!
I’m serious, the whole process, from beginning to end, took me less than 30 minutes! Like so many others across the Net, I highly recommend this way of doing it!
Enjoy your jailbroken and tethered iPhone! ;-)
that method only works until cydia or rockapp updates itself. then it sees that your trial of mywi has expired and removes the option in the network menu. does anyone read what i write here?
i am an iphone developer. i do know what i am talking about
Hi brian, since I stated that I paid the fee, surely my copy is registered and is now out of the trial mode and into the paid mode.
sn00bysnacks: Thanks! That works great.
That’s great. I’m glad it worked for you too. Well worth the bit of time and money it takes, IMHO. ;-)
Dondocfrank, have you seen any stability issues with your iPhone after jailbreaking? That’s the one thing holding me back from following your instructions!
I had to upgrade to 3.12 and lost tethering last month… I’m still going through withdrawels! Haha. Please let me know how your phone is running. Also, why did you chose BlackRain over the PhonageTool? Thanks!
Hi AJ, I have found that my iPhone is a bit more stable and responsive than before. I was having some slight problems with mail and now they’re straightened out. Now, that might be more related to upgrading to 3.1.2, but anyway, it’s doing really well right now. Sorry to say, I didn’t do any “comparison shopping” before choosing “blackra1n.” I actually chose it for it’s ease of application. Now that I’ve read some reviews about both, I discovered there are problems after using “blacra1n” with then unlocking the iPhone to use with other carriers. I have no desire to do that, so I feel I’m quite fine the way I’ve done it. Also, Geohot has “blacksn0w” for those that want to go on ahead and unlock the jailbroken iPhone. If it’s ever necessary, maybe I’ll go that direction, but right now, I don’t need it.
there is no jailbreak that will make your phone faster or more stable. by very definition jailbreaking increases your chances of bricking your iphone. i and many others like me have had to unbrick our iphones by using the DFU mode.
no jailbreak makes your iphone “more stable and responsive” thats just wishful thinking.
there are also significant differences between blackra1n and pwnagetool. for starters, pwnage is only for mac.
second, blackra1n is a TETHERED JAILBREAK which means if your battery dies, or you need to restart your phone, you have to RERUN BLACKRA1N!! or else you will lose the jailbreak and you’ll now have a nice bricked iphone.
pwnagetool is an untethered jailbreak, which means you can restart all you want. the downside is that its a little more difficult to pull off,requires a mac, and you have to reflash with a custom, pwned firmware. which means you lose everything on there and you have to start over.
stop spreading misinformation, frank. if you dont know, just say it. you are going to cause people a lot of problems that could otherwise be avoided.
Hey Brian,
Doesn’t the Tethered Jailbreak on blackra1n only apply to the iPhone 3GS with the updated bootrom? Just want to confirm…
it is dependent upon your bootroom, absolutely. but this does not apply to just the 3GS, but the ipod touches as well.
im just erroring on the side of caution, because its painfully apparent that
1.) most people on here do not know what they are doing
2.) i only know one person who has a non-3GS iphone in japan.
so i am making the assumption that everyone on here is a retard with a 3GS. i dont think im too far from the truth
Good morning Brian and AJ, my sincerest apologies for intruding an unwanted opinion. I was only speaking of what I have experienced so far with my iPhone 3G here in Japan. In my personal experience only, I’ve had no problems following the advice mentioned on the iPhone Blog I mentioned above. I have no knowledge of future events or future ramifications of using the program blackra1n and what might happen if my battery dies. I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. All I can confirm, without hesitation, is that the method I used, worked well for me. I wish you all much luck with your iPhones and iPods. May you fully enjoy them always. Good bye. (^v^)w
what you postulated is not an opinion, but fact. facts can be incorrect as well. and if you took the time to actually read the comments in chronological order, i outlined exactly what you mentioned, then updated with my findings.
personal experience is anecdotal evidence at very best, and has no place in the realm of computers and technology. your miss information can cause a lot of harm to good people just trying to activate tethering. hacking portable electronics is not an easy endeavor, so being informed of all angles is paramount to a successful hack operation.
when you get to the bridge of a bricked iphone, youll see that i have ALREADY posted information on how to get around it.
in summary, read before you leap. and shut up when you dont know what you are talking about.
In dondocfrank’s defense, blackra1n worked just as he said it would! It’s true, anyone about to jailbreak their phone, should do some research before doing so. In my opinion, that doesn’t, has no one to blame but themselves!
Anyways, enough with the negativity! I’ve got tethering again!! Thanks to everyone on this comment thread for the support and feedback. Can’t believe I waited to long to Jailbreak!
Hi Brian, Im about to move house and need to decide whether to t put in a phone line and internet service provider. I’m happy enough with the download speed of my tethered iphone so I’m just wondering whether to just stick with the the iphone on a permanent basis. How long (how many months) have you been using your tethering for and what kind of size things do you download (I dont mean to be nosey, I jst want to get an idea of how much you use it – being a dolt I cant work out this packet system ((which I guess is why they use it)) ).
Thanks
Hi, I think I’ve done everything to install Tethering on my iphone but can’t seem to get it working.
I get to Network, click on “Set Up Internet Tethering” and get a message to contact Softbank.
What am I doing wrong? Can someone please give me some advice?
Nevermind my last comment. I guess I just needed a night to sleep on it. Figured it out. Yes!
Has there still never been any news of people getting charged extra by Softbank for tethering? Or does everyone’s packets used through tethering just come out of your 割引パケット定額フル対象通信分 every month?
Also, how much are everyone’s amounts for this packet usage every month? Before I started tethering, I was racking up over 150,000yen (15万) some months just on packet usage on the iphone. Now that I tether to check mail and other light tasks everyday, it has doubled to almost 300,000 (30万).
So which way works best I have been reading like 5 different ways…. could someone please make a sep by step guide …
Ytse, yes Id like to understand this better too. My packet charge last month was something like 250,000 yen (before they minussed it out on the next line of the bill). This month it will be waaaaayyyyy more as I discovered video straming over 3g !!!!
I think its all a bit of a con actually as I bought my wife an iphone too which she has hardly used at all and yet she still did the maximum packets and had to pay 6,000 yen whereas I&m on all the time and only pay 6,000 yen. I recon they are talking lies when they say the minimum charge is just 1,000 yen – no one could use the internet less than what my wife did.
However, for those of us with Jailbroken iphones and tethering 6,000 yen is a very good deal indeed !!! :)
An interesting point regarding the video streaming is that it is a legal app from Apple that streams over 3g – Im talking thousands and thousands of megabites over the course of a week – this would SEEM to point to the fact that downloading big files through tethering should not raise any red flags as the plan I have can legally using AirVideo download as many gigabites over 3g as I want.
Or maybe it is just wishful thinking on my part…..
Brian,
any chance of a reply to my nosey question?
And in case anyone is interested I just did a speed test between PDAnet Mywi and my own isp – people seem to be wondering which was best.
download with PDanet was 3.2mbps upload .32
with Mywi download 3.3mbps upload .33
my isp Asahinet download 16.14mbps upload 18.10
Finally got the tethering working thanks to Sn00bisnakcks comments :
Easy Tethering for 3.1.2
You can tether 3.1.2. Today I upgraded to 3.1.2 with iTunes and used Blackra1n RC3 to jailbreak (Win7).
- After that use cydia and search for iphone-notes.de
- Add the Repo
- Search for tethering 3g – 3.12 (or 3gs)
- Install and Reboot
- Then install carrier settings
- Got the info from here http://freeek.jp/blog/iphone/1256/
The good thing is I can remove the profile and re install whenever I want
Question? does tethering have different charge from the Unlimited Packet Plan softbank offer.or is it cover with that plan?
hope some one can make this clear for me before i start to abuse using MYWI for making my iphone a Hotspot…thank you in advance…
first off there is no plan for tethering from softbank….. u r just using a modified mobile config file….. and dont abuse it either ! otherwise softbank will fuck u right up the ass with no vaseline….. dont be dumb and use it as a home network….. I only use mine when I need it… when Im not using I remove the mobile config file and when I need it since its my email attachments I just install it….
iphoneuser, im not sure you are right there. There seems to be some evidence that it doesnt matter how mumany packets you use or not. Speaking for myself I used a legal app called Air Video to stream many many gigabites of videos from my house to my places of work so the movement of packets when tethering (in my case) even if it runs into a gigabite or 2 is insignificant in relation to the amount of packets I stream when showing videos at university.
You still might be right, I agree, but anecdotal evidence so far would seem to say that it is ok – I haven’t heard of a single iphone user being billed over his plan limit.
Just my tuppence,
Hi iphoneuser, im not sure you are right there. There seems to be some evidence that it doesnt matter how mumany packets you use or not. Speaking for myself I used a legal app called Air Video to stream many many gigabites of videos from my house to my places of work so the movement of packets when tethering (in my case) even if it runs into a gigabite or 2 is insignificant in relation to the amount of packets I stream when showing videos at university.
You still might be right, I agree, but anecdotal evidence so far would seem to say that it is ok – I haven’t heard of a single iphone user being billed over his plan limit.
Just my tuppence,
@iphoneuser
Unlimited Packet Plan on softbank….<<–this cover the packets used browsing the net,emails…
for tethering i think packets are also used to transmit, to share network?i want to know if that packets used will be cover under that plan?
as we all know tethering is not available for softbank "legally",we are all using different "apps/exploit"to make tethering possible,just want to make sure that i wont be charge extra for using myWi…
I admit Im still a little uneasy about it myself. Can anyone who has been using tethering (in a big way)for a few months chime in and give us their experiences?
Any first-hand stories?
just use it wisely…… so far nobody has been charged…… wether u r surfing the internet or tethering as far as Im concerned softbank cant tell the difference, the onl way they can telll is if u download tremendous amounts of thigns at once like torrents. other than that if u want to be safe do like me and only install it when u need it…. when ur not tethrering remove the mobile config file/.
@ wasted like I said as far as softbank is concerned when ur tethering …. its telling softbank networks that its ur iphone doing the surfing……..
Just use it wisely…. dont abuse it and u will be fine !
i abused the bejesus out of my phone, torrenting, streaming videos, skype calls via 3G instead of wifi (with the hack from rock) i’ve never been charged. fuck softbank and their nazi policies. if im paying for unlimited internet at max packets to my phone, then im going to use all 3mbps 24 hours a day 7 days a week and i refuse to pay a penny more than what they advertise. i have yet to pay a bill over max.
@iphoneuser
thanks for the tips will certainly do,atleast now i know that i may be able to use tethering without being charge so much by softbank…..
Hi y’all,
I’ve been using jailbroken iphone and watching quality youtube videos, tethering my home network and my monthly use tops at 3,000,000 yen and no problems at all.
Holy hell 3,000,000 yen?! And I thought I was using a lot with my packet usage at around 300,000 yen.
Anyone else care to share their actual packet usage with us? Might help give everyone an idea of how much we’re all using.
I use tethering only when I need it… on my macbook… I have the mobile config file saved to my email so when Im not using tethering I uninstall it…. My monthly fees are about 150,000 which is not bad at all ! but once the iPad comes out I will use it more frequently, my plan is instead of buying a 3G ipad for 70,000 which is what I assume the 3G 16GB will cost I’d rather buy me a 32GB wifi only iPad and get internet from my iPhone. No way in hell I will pay for 2 plans !
Not convinced that the iPad will have the correct Bluetooth stack or USB software to allow tethering… In the same way your MacBook is unable to read your iPhone as a Bluetooth device (aside from tethering)…
Not sure that apple is really wanting the iPhone iPad tethering, as you stated it means people paying less!
I must ask… If you have a MacBook and a 3Gs what is it that makes you want an iPad?
I will tether my iphones connection by using MyWi which turns my iPhone into a wifi hotspot. I have a macbook becasue I do my work on it, the iphone is very handy for checking my emails and staying in touch but cannot do my work on it….. I have 13 inch MBP , but its still a pain in the ass to carry i around….. With the iPad everything will be much more convinient….
hi guys. I think I’ve been charged for tethering. On this month’s bill my sky soaring data consumption was discounted as usual, but I see I have an extra fee called:
通信料 世界対応ケータイ（パケット（ＰＣダイレクト）） for
21,664 yen
I in fact left Japan on December 19 and roamed a bit and then again when I was coming back on January 12 I did a bit of roaming. This seems to be related to roaming as the word sekai is written there and it’s the same I got in my previous bill (in which I paid around 20 thousand yen as well, but back then I was sure it was roaming. The current bill began counting from Jan 17 and by that date I am pretty sure I was in Japan and not overseas doing any roaming).
I don’t get it now because all my roaming feels should have been paid by now and I am getting this. I have the slight suspicion that tethering is responsible for this.
Does anyone have any similar experience?
By the way, I roamed through MyWi, sometimes just wirelessly and other times through usb. Now I decided to begin using PDAnet as I feel it may be safer. I suspect tethering somehow uses a different AP, not the same used by the Iphone when it is navigating on its own.
I don’t think that charge has anything to do with being caught tethering.
If you log into your account on the Softbank website, go to 各種変更手続き, and then 契約内容照会 (contract details reference), you’ll see that 世界対応ケータイ is just one of many “option services” that probably all iPhone users have. Personally I am enrolled in Ｓ!ベーシックパック(ｉ)(I think all iPhone users have this), 世界対応ケータイ (worldwide compatible phone), 請求書オプション 郵送 (option to have bill mailed to me), and 発信者番号通知 (show caller number/caller ID).
That has got to be your roaming charge for using 3g overseas. Here’s the website for 世界対応ケータイ for more info: http://mb.softbank.jp/mb/international/
The パケット（ＰＣダイレクト is always charged, its what it’s called I guess… I always see that charge on my online statement, however at the end of the month it’s always discounted. Now My questions is WHY IN THE HELL would you do DATA ROAMING on the iPhone when traveling abroad….. ! Softbank charges roughly about 1,200 yen per 1MB…
Visiting one website now a days on the iPhone is about 3MB at least ! What were you thinking mate ? ! If your jailbroken and possibly unlocked why not get a SIM card from a local carrier…. and buy their plans… usually when I go back home I buy a $10 SIM card from T-Mobile which gives me 270 free minutes and I Just buy the data plan whihc costs me $1 a day only if I use it… if I don’t use I dont pay….. Man…..And I’m pretty sure yo got your billing cycles mixed up ! follow up with Softbank and let us know ! Good luck !
(世界対応ケータイ)can’t read kanji but i believe this charge is for ROAMING…they charge so much on roaming even if u answer an incoming call when u are not in japan..there will be additional charge for you…
Ytse,
I just got this months bill – around 4,000,000 yen (before the rebate).
Next month it will probably increase from that as I discovered a few more streaming apps since then.
My wife has an iphone too (non-jailbroken)and though she almost never uses hers her charge was actually MORE expensive than mine!!
Chocks away I recon……..
Also, just for those who want to know, if you don’t read or speak Japanese and cant understand the native GPS machines (I bought one for 70,000 yen and it’s pretty much useless to me) then download Navicat .99cents, it gives you voice directions in English plus a nice detailed map at turns. It’s simple and it works. I use it all the time now.
70,000 crap/ 99cents works……whodathunkit?
@kazbluesky
Sorry to say this, cos I was really looking forward to adding a reply thanking you for the tip, but I just tried Navicat and found it to be a pile of awfulness. It can’t find a single thing I’ve searched for, and doesn’t allow pin dropping, so it can lead me nowhere.
Yup the no pin sucks. BUT what you have to do is search and find where you want to go in google maps save the point as a contact and then when you open Navicat you just imput/use the contact.
It hasnt got bells and whistles I grant you, and it is still rough around the edges but it gets me everywhere I want to go IN ENGLISH so I’m happy with it.
Try it for a bit longer, maybe you’ll still think it’s a pile steaming pooh but you just might get to like it – I did.
On the other hand if you know of another app that is in English and works in Japan Im interested.
@ kazbluesky
Thanks for the reply. I agree, there aren’t many other options. The pin thing really does it for me though.
On top of Navicat not being able to pin drop, and needing to use the Maps app to make a contact to use in Navicat, it needs to be a listed marker in the Maps app. You can’t add an address to a contact by dropping a pin in the Maps app. So, that means you still need to know the business name or address of the place you want to go to, which in Japan often means knowing how to write the kanji (not likely!) or copying it from a page in Safari.
With that in consideration, I think I’d rather just use the Maps app for getting to places, even though it has no voice and traffic stuff, or basic GPS capabilities.
Anyway, I’d love to find this app useful, as with any app, but so far it seems like more trouble and less success than the Maps app. If they add pin drops it could all change!