GUIDE: Everything about CDMA-like Providers (Verizon, Sprint) and DUN

From Internet Tablet Talk

Contents 1 Recommended Reading 2 Notes 3 Disclaimer 4 Getting Started 5 Technologies 6 Authentication 6.1 QNC 6.1.1 Overview 6.1.2 Details 6.1.3 Why to avoid QNC 6.2 1xRTT 6.2.1 Overview 6.2.2 Details 6.2.3 Why to avoid 1xRTT 6.3 EV-DO 6.3.1 Details 6.3.2 Why to avoid EV-DO 7 Common Problems 7.1 Getting 1xRTT to Work 7.1.1 WARNING 7.1.2 One: Disabling EV-DO 7.1.3 Two: Disabling CHAP 7.2 Getting EV-DO to Work 7.2.1 Non-Motorola Phones 7.2.2 Motorola Phones 8 How to Avoid Billing Issues

Recommended Reading

Alexander Lash's talk on CDMA hacking

How to enable EVDO DUN on nearly any phone in 10 easy steps

Notes

In this article, I will refer to Sprint as a CDMA provider. This is technically inaccurate, but the same tools may be used and the same process generally applies.

Other CDMA providers include Telus, Alltel, Bell, Vivo, and US Cellular. If you are not in the United States or South Korea, odds are excellent you have a GSM-based phone and should read GUIDE: Everything about GSM Providers (T-Mobile, Cingular) and DUN instead.

This article will be of limited use to Smartphone (Windows Mobile or Palm) and Modem (USB/PCMCIA/etc) users: it is intended only for consumer handsets.

Finally, this article does not cover setting up tethering with a tethering plan enabled, as the process is much simpler and requires certain other values that may be unique for each cellphone plan: with a tethering plan purchased, it is easier to call technical support and have them explain what to do.

Disclaimer

Modifying your phone to enable DUN (aka tethering, aka bluetooth-based cellphone internet) is against your Terms of Service.

If you wish to use DUN legitimately, purchase a tethering plan. As of this writing, Verizon offers the BroadbandAccess plan for $60, depending on market.

Illegitimate usage of DUN technologies may result in large bills.

Do not go over 5GB of usage per month: both Sprint and Verizon are known to monitor accounts that do so.

Do not use BitTorrent or other P2P applications: these are a red flag.

Avoid the use of multiplayer games: not only are they a red flag, but high latency will make them virtually unplayable.

Do not leave your connection running for extended periods of time.

Do use this sparingly and only when necessary.

Getting Started

Pair your phone with your tablet via the phone wizard: select your carrier, if possible, and attempt to connect to the internet. If this fails, read on!

Technologies

Name: The common names of the technology. Gen.: The generation of the technology. Downlink/Uplink: The theoretical bandwidth provided by the technology. Competitor: The GSM-type competing technology with similar specifications. Hardware: How common is the hardware that supports this? Availability: Where is this coverage available?

Name	Gen.	Downlink	Uplink	Competitor	Hardware	Availability
QNC/cdmaOne	2G	14.4kbps	7.2kbps	GPRS	Obsolete	Obsolete
1xRTT	2.5G	300kbps	150kbps	EDGE	Ubiquitous	Ubiquitous
EV-DO Rev. 0	3G	2000kbps	300kbps	UMTS/HSDPA	Common	Urban and Sub-urban
EV-DO Rev. A	3G	3000kbps	1500kbps	UMTS/HSUPA	Rare	Some Urban

Please note that these are approximations and will change. Most carriers are aggressively pursuing EV-DO Rev. A for smartphones and modems, and it is assumed that this support will reach commodity handsets by the end of the year.

The points to be drawn from this table are that EV-DO Rev. 0 is what most users should expect for DUN. It is very difficult to purchase a phone without EV-DO support, coverage is fairly widespread, and speeds are dramatically better than those of 1xRTT. Verizon also markets EV-DO support as "VCAST".

Authentication

Authentication is the reason why most phones cannot use DUN out of the box: the service must generally be enabled on the carrier's end. However, since all phones now use data for features such as MMS, it is possible to mimic legitimate access in order to gain general internet services on a laptop or Nokia tablet.

QNC

Overview

Originally, with QNC/cdmaOne, data calls and voice calls did not significantly impact the network: due to the low availability of data-capable phones, and the general lack of desire for them, carriers ignored usage. As such, no special authentication was necessary: even today, one can connect to a dial-up ISP with this method.

WARNING: Verizon has announced high per-kb charges on QNC use. Avoid using QNC without checking your contract for rates and penalties.

Details

To connect via QNC and use your provider as an ISP, use the following values:

(Taken from Verizon: results may vary on other providers.)

Number	#777
Username	qnc
Password	qnc

Why to avoid QNC

QNC is slow and obsolete: excessive use is not only expensive, but will certainly alert your carrier that you are using unauthorized services.

1xRTT

Overview

1xRTT, as a 2.5G technology, marked the introduction of services like Get It Now that relied heavily on data access. This also marked the introduction of moderately popular PCMCIA cellular modems, providing practical speeds for mobile data access.

Essentially every phone sold since 2002 by CDMA providers has 1xRTT capability.

1xRTT used a slightly more advanced authentication model, and was capable of being billed as "data usage" instead of simple "airtime minutes" by providers. Verizon and Sprint both chose to adopt hybrid plans, where users could pay for data or simply use existing airtime minutes. Current cellular plans consider 1xRTT a backup for when EV-DO is not accessible, and will bill 1xRTT and EV-DO usage at the same rates.

Details

To connect via 1xRTT and use your provider as an ISP, use the following values:

Number	#777
Username	<number>@<provider>
Password	<pwd>

In all cases, replace <number> with your raw phone number: (555) 123-1234 would be '5551231234'

<provider> and <pwd> vary based on your provider.

Provider	<provider>	<pwd>
Verizon	vzw3g.com	vzw
Alltel	alltel.com	allltel

If you are using Sprint, Username is your Vision login and Password is your Vision password. The number to dial remains #777.

Why to avoid 1xRTT

1xRTT is known to be a weak point by most carriers, and it is also an obsolete technology. Excessive or continual use in areas that have known EV-DO coverage will be discovered and billed as illegitimate data usage.

EV-DO

EV-DO is the current choice of CDMA providers for data services, and offers significant speed boosts over 1xRTT. All currently sold phones have EV-DO capabilities, and the vast majority of phones sold in the last three years do as well.

Details

To connect via EV-DO and use your provider as an ISP, use the following values:

Number	#777
Username	<number>@<provider>
Password	<pwd>

In all cases, replace <number> with your raw phone number: (555) 123-1234 would be '5551231234'

<provider> and <pwd> vary based on your provider.

Provider	<provider>	<pwd>
Verizon	vzw3g.com	vzw
Alltel	alltel.com	allltel

If you are using Sprint, Username is your Vision login and Password is your Vision password. The number to dial remains #777.

Why to avoid EV-DO

EV-DO is the best option for connectivity at this time with CDMA providers. It is used to deliver many high-bandwidth applications, such as VCAST, and therefore excessive use is more likely to go undetected.

Common Problems

Getting 1xRTT to Work

If you have a hybrid (1xRTT and EV-DO) phone, the phone will automatically switch from 1xRTT to EV-DO when necessary. Furthermore, hybrid phones have NAIs (covered in EV-DO) that prevent you from manually specifying a username and password when connecting.

To circumvent this, there are two steps.

WARNING

The author of this article STRONGLY recommends against using 1xRTT on a hybrid phone, as such usage is immediately suspicious to the carrier.

One: Disabling EV-DO

This is entirely maker-specific and occasionally phone-specific.

Please search HowardForums for details, or look at the Disabling EV-DO article. Please add the steps you took to Disabling EV-DO if you succeed!

Two: Disabling CHAP

There is a security hole in NAI authentication: when using certain forms of authentication, the phone will not replace your username with its NAI, and login may proceed.

1. Gain root on the device. 2. Edit the /etc/ppp/options file. 3. Find the line #-chap and change it to -chap.

A guide more suitable for beginners may be found in this forum post.

You should now be able to connect to the internet through your phone.

Getting EV-DO to Work

EV-DO relies on a Network Access Identifier stored in the phone. Your phone will have two (or more) NAIs: one for internal phone data use (mobile web browser, Get It Now, etc), and one for tethered data use (bluetooth, USB, etc). Simply setting your tethered data NAI to match your internal phone data NAI will circumvent this protection.

For example, a Verizon phone will use <number>@vzw3g.com for internal phone applications, and will use <number>@dun.vzw3g.com for tethered access. Verizon's servers will then reject your login if you attempt to use <number>@dun.vzw3g.com without a data plan.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to change the NAI directly on most phones.

Non-Motorola Phones

Please review How to enable EVDO DUN on nearly any phone in 10 easy steps for the details.

If you still have issues, please post as many details as you have in the Troubleshooting forum. Specific error messages and steps taken will be extremely helpful.

LG VX10000 (Voyager)

An unofficial LG Voyager Wiki explains the steps involved in enabling DUN directly on the phone.

First, access the Hidden Services Menu. Second, follow the steps outlined in the Dial Up Networking Hack section.

The wiki states that the DUN unlocking process "is the same as previous LG phones such as the EN-V and Chocolate." Steps for accessing the Hidden Services Menu on those phones may be provided elsewhere.

Palm Centro (Verizon)

As of June 2008 the Palm Centro works out of the box for bluetooth DUN with a paid data plan through Verizon

Motorola Phones

Start by following the guide at: How to enable EVDO DUN on nearly any phone in 10 easy steps.

If that fails, it is because your phone is programmed to reset its NAI on reboot to factory settings. This is most common with recent Verizon-branded Motorola phones.

There is no best answer for all Motorola phones, but Mark Venture's Verizon Pages is the best place to start. Be aware that the solution is likely to involve reflashing your phone and the use of internal Motorola tools: the Troubleshooting forum may not be able to help you, and you will have better luck on HowardForums.

How to Avoid Billing Issues

First, read the disclaimer at the start of this document and follow the Dos and Do Nots.

Second, enable some sort of phone data plan. Verizon's VCAST, for $15/month, grants "Unlimited" (5GB capped, among other things) data access on the phone, and easily explains any data usage you might have. Even Verizon's basic mobile web plan, at $7/month + airtime used for data, gives a reason as to why a phone might be moving a lot of data. Note: on Verizon's newer, "Nationwide" plan, you will be charged $1.99 per megabyte instead of minutes.

Third, if you can afford to do so, pay for a real tethered plan and enjoy having actual support! :)

First revision of this document by --Aleksandyr 01:19, 17 January 2008 (EST) who is volunteering himself as a troubleshooter and expert on this topic.