Vodafone 3G: Difference between regular and iPhone specific 3G plans?

[hitman]

I got the iphone4 today .. but my 3G data plan wasn't working on it ..So I called CC and they told me tht for iphone4 there is separate plan .. So I requested for deactivation of previous 3G plan and activation of iphone4 3G plan ..But the thing is both the plan have exact same price .. i.e Rs.375 for 500MB ..Can anyone tell me the difference between both these plans?btw after I upgraded the iPhone software my previous 3G data plan(for normal phones) started working .. but now its too late to request the cancellation of my above request cos they were already gone for processing (although none of them is processed as yet, so I know I am still on 3G plan for normal phones) .. Not bothered abt tht much .. But I just wanna know the basic difference between these two 3G plans ..

 

[asifnasar]

Acc to them i phones are bandwidth hogger.

 

[jayant]

I don't think their are separate plans for mobile phones & Apple iPhones.

 

[GarfieldDC]

You are right. Vodafone does have 2 data plans. One is the regular plan and the other is for the iPhone. In terms of price, data connectivity and speed both of them are the same. The only difference is the APN that is used. The regular plan uses the "www" APN setting whereas the iPhone plan uses "iphone" as the APN. As of iOS 4.3.3, Apple still had the Vodafone India Configuration file in the iOS firmware (meaning Vodafone was considered an official iPhone carrier). I haven't checked if it has changed in iOS 4.3.4. For this reason you cannot see the "Cellular Data Network" option under Settings when you use a Vodafone SIM. The ability to change the APN is restricted on all official carriers. So, if you have the regular plan activated on your connection you will still be able to use the data service. But the iPhone will use the "iphone" APN by default (unless you have a Configuration Profile installed with ApN as "www"). Vodafone in turn will charge you like a pay as you go plan. This happened to me and I only found out when I got my bill. They later reversed the charges on my bill after I asked them how I could have two 3G plans active on my connection (Regular & iPhone plans).

 

[hitman]

Tht's interesting ..You r right abt the APN change .. I have official unlocked iPhone (not the jailbreak one) but still I don't get the option to change APN ..But tht is really pathetic of vodafone to charge customer "as pay as you go" plan .. They should atleast notify the customer by sending some sms or something ..

 

[GarfieldDC]

Yeah.. You're right that they should inform you. But unfortunately very few of their people are knowledgable about the iPhone or the services and the differences. Most of what I know comes from my tinkering around with my iPhone and the files in iOS. I have an unlocked iPhone 4 and an AT&T iPhone 3G that's been jailbroken & unlocked.

 

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[hitman]

Also I learned since vodafone is authorized carrier of iPhone so tht is why they won't allow me to edit the APN .. They just don't let tht option to appear on iphone from where I can edit the details ..Although I don't even want to edit cos vodafone by itself sets the iphone settings automatically ..But since my phone is unlocked one so I was wondering y the option is not there .. It turns out tht it can be disabled by the service provider ..Now when I see my services on vodafone I see Iphone as a service listed there .. So vodafone somehow comes to know if we r using iphone or not ..

 

[GarfieldDC]

@hitman Vodafone is no longer an authorized carrier for the iPhone in India. Atleast not for the iPhone 4 (see Apple website). Official Indian carriers are Airtel & Aircel. Almost all of the official carriers worldwide restrict APN editing. This is through the setup in the Carrier Bundle files in iOS. Apple has not removed the Vodafone India carrier bundle in iOS. That is the reason we can't see the option when using a Vodafone SIM. Try any other SIM apart from Vodafone/Airtel/Aircel and you will see the option to edit APN. I also have a BSNL 3G connection. Whenever I use that SIM I can edit the APN.

 

[hitman]

Yeah I checked tht .. Not sure why its still included in Carrier files in iOS .. Anyways its not a concern till the time everything works fine for me btw any idea y my unbilled usage keep increasing even though I haven't used my 500MB as yet .. I haven't even used more than 100MB till now ..I have checked with vodafone tht I am on iPhone 3G pack now .. so its not tht they r charging me for pay as u go ..Customer care says it will be adjusted at the time of bill generation .. But by tht time my credit limit i.e Rs.2500 will get eaten up ..

 

[GarfieldDC]

Well it's up to Apple to fix it and remove the Vodafone carrier bundle file from iOS. It's actually a pain for me as I'm on a corporate VMC data plan and need to install a configuration profile for the APN. Your unfilled amount does not include discounts or adjustments. All that gets added when the monthly bill is generated. It doesn't impact your credit limit. I have a Rs 3000 credit limit and there have been months when my data usage was equivalent to Rs 6000 or more. They never stopped any of my services. Although I wish they had a way for postpaid customers to track/view data usage.