EDGE and internet surfing questions on iphone

[Dingo Dave 69]

Hi everyone,

I got my iphone on Saturday and am loving it so far but have a few questions regarding surfing the internet.

I understand the wifi side of things so thats fine. When I have tried using safari outwith my wifi I have a blue square on my iphone where the wifi signal usually is. I can surf the net fine. I thought this was using EDGE. However, when I go to YouTube and try and watch a video, it tells me it can't do it as it needs a wifi or an EDGE connection, if this is so how am I on the internet? Is this using GPRS?

Similarly, when I try and send an email it works fine if its using wifi but fails when I am not using my wifi and tells me it can't find the outgoing server, whats causing this? I can recieve email fine but can't send unless its by wifi.

Third, is there anyway using safari, mail etc will charge me? I recently used my old mobile and was amazed at the prices for surfing the web on it, I want to make sure that however I am connecting on my iphone I am not being charged for it!

Thanks for reading this and if anyone can help I would be very grateful!

 

[FunkyJunk]

If you are on EDGE, a square with a small "E" in it will show up at the top of the screen.

The mail problem you have is with your settings on the phone. Go into Settings>Mail>(whatever your account is) and check the "outgoing mail server" info and make sure it matches what your email service provider says it should be. e.g. smtp.gmail.com, username@gmail.com, and password

If you're on AT&T in the USA, no, you can't be charged extra for any data usage. The plan you signed up for is unlimited. The only extra charges would be if you talk over your monthly allowance or you take the phone overseas.

 

[Dingo Dave 69]

Hi,

I have only seen the E once in the blue box, does that mean its using GPRS the rest of the time?

The mail settings are correct, they work when I connect via wifi but not when I am using GPRS / EDGE? Any ideas?

I am with o2 and in the UK if that helps with any of this.

 

[FunkyJunk]

I suspect you're just not getting good EDGE coverage where you are. I've no ideas for the email settings problem, unfortunately.

 

[Dingo Dave 69]

Thanks FunkyJunk,

I expected the problem to be a poor EDGE signal but wondered if anyone else had this problem. Still finding it weird not being charged for surfing the web!

 

[mattpreston11]

The mail settings are correct, they work when I connect via wifi but not when I am using GPRS / EDGE? Any ideas?

you with ntl?

ive found that ntl block me using my mobile internet connection to send emails. part of there spam filter or something. i havent tried it on wifi though, might see if it works to prove my theorey that they block certain IP's (mobile networks)

 

[unity]

Just FYI, the iPhone does not work on GRPS except for SMS. It requires Edge or WiFi, and only those two, nor net access.

 

[sparkyms]

Just FYI, the iPhone does not work on GRPS except for SMS. It requires Edge or WiFi, and only those two, nor net access.

iPhone will use GPRS for net access, its what the majority of us in the UK are having to rely on when we are not on WiFi, so I'm not sure where you get that notion from.

Anyway DingoDave; data usage is unlimited with o2 UK, so you shan't be charged for it unless you use a rediculous amount of MBs.

 

[unity]

iPhone will use GPRS for net access, its what the majority of us in the UK are having to rely on when we are not on WiFi, so I'm not sure where you get that notion from.

Anyway DingoDave; data usage is unlimited with o2 UK, so you shan't be charged for it unless you use a rediculous amount of MBs.

Im getting the notion from Apple itself as well as ATT and several developers. No little "E" for Edge or no WiFi means no access, period. Why do you think they are adding the Edge protocols and upgrading them? And I really doubt its different in Europe or they would not have been bumping up Edge speeds and adding the protocol to networks that did not have it.

 

[sneeks]

You will currently have your outgoing mail server configured for your home internet connection and this will only work when connected via wifi at this location. In order to get your email working both on wifi and gprs/EDGE the outgoing mail server must be mail.o2.co.uk:25 and the username and password are the details you use to sign into your o2 account online.

No 'E' displayed in the UK results in the iPhone connecting to the internet and email using GPRS instead. They are adding EDGE in the UK because GPRS is slow.

 

[arkitect]

In order to get your email working both on wifi and gprs/EDGE the outgoing mail server must be mail.o2.co.uk:25 and the username and password are the details you use to sign into your o2 account online.

Curious. I have been able to send and receive email via EDGE, GPRS or WiFi… yet none of my email accounts use the settings (mail.o2.co.uk:25) you suggest.

But thanks for the tip — if I run into trouble I'll try it. Right now I am not tinkering with anything.

 

[sparkyms]

Im getting the notion from Apple itself as well as ATT and several developers. No little "E" for Edge or no WiFi means no access, period. Why do you think they are adding the Edge protocols and upgrading them? And I really doubt its different in Europe or they would not have been bumping up Edge speeds and adding the protocol to networks that did not have it.

well, ive been surfing the net places for a few days now with no "E" logo, just a blue square, and when we consult the iPhone manual:

As you can see that states we can connect to the webbernets without a specific EDGE connection, we can use safari and mail with GPRS

Alright?

 

[FunkyJunk]

On a side note, do you guys really have a blue icon? Our icon is white. No big deal, just mildly interesting.

 

[sparkyms]

Well, ours is a white block on the home screen, but in apps like Safari/Mail, etc etc its Blue.

 

[pacohaas]

On a side note, do you guys really have a blue icon? Our icon is white. No big deal, just mildly interesting.

In Safari(and other places) it's blue, just one of the many visual inconsistencies on the iPhone.

@OP, you probably want to make sure Data Roaming is turned off to help avoid charges when you're not on your home EDGE network.

 

[chwhale]

Well, ours is a white block on the home screen, but in apps like Safari/Mail, etc etc its Blue.

Mine just changed to this standard. I live in the US and it used to be the "E". Now it is a white block on the home screen and a blue one in Safari.

---

Update - for some reason, now it has switched back to the E. Strange....

 

[sparkyms]

well we still get an 'E' if its edge connected, but where its kind of sporadic I only get EDGE a few places so the rest of the time i get the solid GPRS indicator.

Basically the point I was trying to get across is we can still use the internet whilst not on EDGE/WiFi.


EDIT:

Update - for some reason, now it has switched back to the E. Strange....

Thats because you are connected to EDGE now. Where no EDGE is available it should revert to GPRS.

 

[chwhale]

Thats because you are connected to EDGE now. Where no EDGE is available it should revert to GPRS.

Since this post, I'm back to the blue and white boxes. I've never seen these before the 1.1.2 update. I guess that I'm confused as to what GPRS even is.

 

[unity]

well, ive been surfing the net places for a few days now with no "E" logo, just a blue square, and when we consult the iPhone manual:

As you can see that states we can connect to the webbernets without a specific EDGE connection, we can use safari and mail with GPRS

Alright?

OK.. then that is a UK network thing only. I talked to ATT and directly to Apple "engineers". I was concerned about traveling abroad and got to talking about Edge. Two engineer specified that unless there is an Edge icon or WiFi, there is no access. In fact I have traveled often outside the Edge network here and then have no access even though GRPS is plentiful. I have never seen the solid blue box.

So it must be a network feature, not the phone or software since we all update the same.

This is a good thing, I guess....

Oh, and GRPS is the same at Edge but slower... basically. Really Edge is a protocol used on GRPS for higher data speeds but requires some back end software/hardware...

 

[meccanikal]

GPRS, edge, 3G, WTF?

GPRS : general packet radio service
edge : enhanced data for gsm evolution
gsm global service for mobile (communications)
GPRS is the slowest data available on a gsm network (2G, second generation)
Edge is considered 2.5g. AT&T network recently got a speed boost but still remains 2.5g data on edge. Each acronym has certain speed min and max limits set by whoever the hell decides this stuff. 3g can mean many different techs (umts, hsdpa, hsupa). I believe hsdpa and hsupa are both considered 3.5g speeds diff being that hsupa ups the upload speed as seen on newer aircards.

For some people, myself included, 3g data is useless as they don't live in an area with coverage. Also, it kills batteries much faster than edge for several reasons. 1) the chip needs to handle all the incoming data 2) if you are on the outside edge of the coverage area(which doesn't reach as far as edge, GPRS) the device uses more juice to keep the connection alive. If you've ever had a 3g device in 3g area u notice how many times the connections is lost while walking/ driving etc.

Dumb/fun fact: 3g data is not gsm. Its actually a wideband cdma, wcdma which is a Variant of cdma (used by verizon, alltel etc). They use ev-do which doesn't allow voice and data at the same time like gsm 3g.

 

[meccanikal]

forgot the point of all that

I never had a solid "data" icon until I updated to 1.1.3 (stupid I know, I'll just wait for the new jailbreak).

Anyone else have the same issue?

 

[neveleven]

Are we all getting charged for gprs tho?