Apple iPhone on Vodafone India

I’m back in New Delhi and brought my iPhone along for the ride. I popped in a Hutch (Vodafone) SIM card into the iPhone. Everything appeared to be working fine, except EDGE/GPRS. I looked around and couldn’t find any sites with Vodafone India settings for the iPhone. I did, however, find this page on the Vodafone India site that gave all the information necessary to get EDGE/GPRS up and running.

To get EDGE running on Hutch/Vodafone India on your iPhone, go to Settings then tap on General then tap on Network and then on EDGE. On the EDGE screen enter “WWW” under APN. Done. Simple, huh?

Vodafone India EDGE Settings

The SIM Applications (Settings -> Phone) on my Hutch SIM card seem to partially work but I cannot check my bill from the iPhone. I believe reading that Apple doesn’t recognize any phone numbers or applications on SIM cards. However, I think SIM applications are partially recognized. If anyone has any other experiences, I’d love to hear about them.

Hutch/Vodafone India Services

Finally, don’t bother running any Carrier Services from Settings -> Phone as they appear to be hardcoded for AT&T.
iPhone Carrier Services

Anyone else running an iPhone in India on Hutch/Vodafone, Airtel, IDEA, or other networks, I’d love to hear your experiences.


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89 responses to “Apple iPhone on Vodafone India”

  1. Anubhav Avatar
    Anubhav

    Hello,

    First of all let me compliment you on the great jobh that you have ben doing. I have been going through the discussion and found that I am facing a problem which is kind of unique to say the least.

    I have just purchased the iphone and it’s on version 1.1.4. Got it unlocked and have inserted a Vodafone SIM card.

    The phone is working fine. But in between, when the phone is not in use and is kept aside, after sometime, it does not detect a vodafone network. Then when I pick it up and unlock the screen and go to menu, it says ‘Searching..’ and then picks up the network signal. I have been observing this for 2 days now.

    Can anyone suggest anything on this..? I am really stunned as to what could be the problem. I have tried manually selecting the network but it hasn;t helped either.
    Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.
    Regards,
    Anubhav

  2. Pankaj Avatar
    Pankaj

    Raakesh,
    I’m sorry, I haven’t used Airtel yet so I’m not sure of the settings. However, after getting thoroughly screwed by Vodafone, I’ve decided to switch to Airtel. I should be getting my new SIM in a few days and will let you know what kind of luck I have setting up EDGE on my iPhone with Airtel.

    Sachin,
    Your problem is a complete mystery. What version was your iphone out of the box? Could it be possible that Vodafone has activated WAP but not EDGE/GPRS on your SIM? What other brand/model of phone did you try your SIM in? If you’re in Delhi, we can grab a cup of coffee and I’d be happy to look at your iPhone to see if I can figure anything out.

    Anubhav,
    Thanks for the kind words. Your problem is something that’s very common. It, apparently, is caused sometimes by the unlocking method used on the iPhone. You might have no choice but to completely revirginize your iPhone (thus locking it and restoring the seczone). Once it’s back to factory state, you might try unlocking it again. What version was your phone out of the box? I think you should restore the phone to version that the iphone shipped with. Keep us updated on what happens.

    Cheers,
    Pankaj

  3. Sachin Avatar
    Sachin

    Hi Pankaj,

    Thanks once again.. My phone was on firmware 1.1.2 out of the box and now is on 1.1.4. It sure seems like a mystery…

    I re-checked with Vodafone and they insist that they’ve enabled Vodafone Mobile Connect (EDGE) on my SIM, and they sure are charging me for the same. I tried my SIM to check EDGE in Sony Ericsson P990i and a friend’s Nokia phone as well. It seemed to work on both, but I guess it wud still work if WAP is enabled..

    Unfortunately I work in B’lore as of now. But I will be coming to Delhi sometime next month for a couple of days, to visit my folks. I’ll surely try to meet you ven I’m there and maybe we can then figure out vat’s wrong with my phone… 😉 That wud be very helpful. Also, you can reach me on +91-9886398247. Maybe we can talk and see if anything can be done, for now.

    Thanks again,
    Sach…

  4. anjali Avatar
    anjali

    Hai Pankaj,
    i just got 8gb appleiphone and i have vodafone sim card.It was earlier activated for gprs,but now iam not able to browse via safari or even check my yahoo email.The E icon is flashing on the left side though.iam maintaining above 199 in my pre paid account.
    I did type www next to APN.Iam not sure what VPN is.Also what to type nexy to descrition in yahoo mail.
    can you please advice how to go about this problem.

  5. Pankaj Avatar
    Pankaj

    Anjali,
    VPN is irrelevant. You can leave the default settings. You got the correct APN and it should work. The only thing I can think of is that you might have to maintain more than Rs. 199 on your account. Have you tried using your SIM in another phone to see if you can access email or the web? Make sure Vodafone has Mobile Connect enabled.

    Let us know how you make out.
    Pankaj

  6. Suraj Reddy Avatar
    Suraj Reddy

    Dear Pankaj,

    A friend of mine is getting me an I-Phone 16 GB from US..it is a brand new phone which isnt even started once….so, should i ask him to bring down his AT&T SIM to india??? i mean is AT&T SIM required to unlock the phone or can i just have the phone unlocked and pop-in my Airtel SIM directly into it??? please do advise me here mate….also, can we transfer files/photos/Music/videos via Blue Tooth to other phones???? waiting to hear from u….do let me know at the earliest as my friend will be leaving US in three days time….Take care mate…

    Suraj Reddy

  7. Pankaj Avatar
    Pankaj

    Hi Suraj,
    Sorry for the delay but I haven’t had good Internet access the last 2 weeks.
    The new iPhone should be coming out soon but being a 3G phone won’t do much good in India. However, you may be able to get the original iPhone cheaper once the new one is launched.

    You don’t need an AT&T SIM to unlock the iPhone anymore. It’s so easy to unlock the iPhone these days using tools like ziPhone. The iPhone has a crippled Bluetooth that only allows headsets to connect. There’s no transfering of anything using Bluetooth available. This took a lot of getting used to after my Nokia E61.

    In any case, you’ll still love the iPhone if you’re a podcast, photo, and email junkie like me.
    Cheers,
    Pankaj

  8. Kunal Avatar
    Kunal

    I;m trying to get GPRS to work on my 8GB, v1.1.4 firmware, unlocked iPhone with a Vodafone postpaid SIM card.

    I haven’t had any success fo far.
    Naturally I couldn’t tell them that I use the iPhone because they’ve said that it’s not supported.

    I called Vodafone Customer support, sent ACT VL to 111, waited for more than a day, rebooted the phone and saw that the ‘E’ icon appeared on the top of the phone.
    I’ve configured APN to “www” too.

    Yet, when I try to surf using the browser or access mail, I get the message “Safari can’t open the page because it can’t find the server.” and “Could not activate EDGE: You are not subscribed to EDGE”.

    Am I missing something here?
    TIA.

  9. Pankaj Avatar
    Pankaj

    Kunal,
    I am not sure but it sounds exactly like the problem I had with Airtel. They’re doing a partial setup of GPRS for you so you can hit some of their services (with phones other than the iPhone). I think you need to call them and yell and scream for “Vodafone Mobile Connect”. Tell them you’re using a Nokia E61 which they support and it’s a smart phone. You can also try telling them you’re using an iPhone. I told Airtel that and the guy pulled up the settings for the iPhone. I bet Vodafone is also getting ready for the iPhone launch so they might support it now.

    Good luck.
    Pankaj

  10. Kunal Avatar
    Kunal

    Thanks Pankaj, the problem was indeed with Vodafone. I called 111, screamed “Vodafone Mobile Connect!!!”, waited the obligatory 2 hours, and viola!
    Thanks for your help!

  11. Pankaj Avatar

    Kunal,
    Glad to hear the monkeys at Vodafone Customer Care were able to activate Mobile Connect.

    Enjoy the beauty of your gorgeous iPhone (on one of the cheapest and worst networks in the world 🙂

    Cheers,
    pankaj

  12. Bhav Avatar

    They r asking IMEI for activation of EDGE -GPRS

    Any idea to get rid of this and get EDGE?

  13. Pankaj Avatar
    Pankaj

    That must be new or some punk at Vodafone is trying to be cute. Try calling again ad see if they all ask for the IMEI or not. If they do, stick the SIM in another GPRS phone and then call them and give them that IMEI

    Let us know what happens as other readers will probably face similar situations.

  14. Vicky Avatar
    Vicky

    Hi,
    I have done settings as described by you but unable to connect. Vodafone has activated VODAFONE LIVE & they r saying Iphone is not compatible.
    Is VODAFONE MOBILE CONNECT required instead of VODAFONE LIVE? The charges for VODAFONE MOBILE CONNECT are 5p/10kb plus Rs 199 rental. Can u tell me about speed & how much general surfing like rediff/orkut/gmail cost? coz this 10KB funda is very confusing.

    Thanks,
    Vicky

  15. ashvin Avatar
    ashvin

    I am on version 1.1.4(4a102) & model firmware 04.04.05_G is there any upgraded versions and what are its benefits?

  16. Pankaj Avatar
    Pankaj

    Vicky,
    You need Vodafone Mobile Connect. I believe they have a 1GB and maybe even an unlimited data plan for around Rs. 999. You should read the post and comments to see what others have done to get it working. Basically, Vodafone telling you it’s not compatible is their incompetence or just plain lies.

    Asvin,
    iPhone 2.0 is out as I mentioned briefly here. If you’re a 1st gen iPhone user, you should upgrade to iPhone 2.0 to take advantage of all the applications in the iTunes App Store. There are some great applications like AOL Radio, Bloomberg, Twinkle,and some nice games as well. Upgrading can be accomplished a few different ways, depending on whether you’re using an iPhone with an Apple approved carrier or you’re using an unlocked iPhone.

    Cheers,
    Pankaj

  17. Namrata Avatar
    Namrata

    hey

    I had an 8 GB Iphone with 1.4. i unlocked it and upgraded the sofware to 2.0 but now the EDGE option does not appear in the Network menu. Any thoughts…………?

  18. Pankaj Avatar
    Pankaj

    Namrata,
    I had a similar experience when I upgraded to 2.0. Fortunately, even though, the EDGE option is no longer visible, the iPhone was able to pick up my GPRS settings (I’m now on Airtel). The only thing I can think of is that it picked them up from my SIM card.

    However, there is a way to make this option reappear. I will put up a post on how to do this. I hope you’re fairly technical. If not, let’s see if someone puts out a hack to do this automagically 🙂

    Cheers,
    Pankaj

  19. Pankaj Avatar
    Pankaj

    Namrata,
    BTW, I think that the iPhone 2.0 Software should work with Vodafone because Vondafone is one of Apple’s partners (so is Airtel) and I think that’s why my iPhone picked up my settings. However, it is possible that Vodafone users have different settings for iPhones that normal GPRS users.

    I guess it’s much easier than I thought…. someone has a tool out there. You will need to have your iPhone connected to a WiFi connection so that you can browse to this link http://www.unlockit.co.nz/

    That should take care of your problem.
    Cheers,
    Pankaj

  20. Raghu Avatar
    Raghu

    Hi!
    I don’t get the option of “Edge” under the Network settings page. I only see “Enable 3G”, “Data Roaming”, VPN & Wi-Fi options under Network settings 🙁
    However, I do see an “E” next to the VodafoneIN signal on the top edge of the screen. However, when I attempt to connect to any site using safari I get the error that its unable to activate the data service and that I am not subscribed to a cellular data service plan. But when I stick my SIM into my old sony-ericsson P1i, I am able to use GPRS/EDGE services to access my pop accounts and browse the net.
    How the heck do I get the damn gprs to work??? somebody HELP!!

    1. pankaj Avatar

      Are you using an iPhone 3G or 1st gen iPhone upgraded to the 2.02
      firmware?

      On 25-Aug-08, at 12:20 AM, “Disqus” <notifications-

    2. pankaj Avatar

      Rahgu,
      I just noticed that you said “Enable 3G”. You obviously have a shiny
      new iPhone 3G. Did you buy it from Vodafone or somewhere else? Of
      you got it from Vodafone India, they must get your problem resolved.
      Even if you got it from another source, Vodafone will most likely
      support you and help get your poblems resolved. Try contacting them.

      On another note, what level of the firmware are you running? Have you
      recently synched your phone with iTunes? Last night, iTunes offered
      to download updated settings for my carrier, Airtel. It’s probable
      that iTunes will also update your phone with vodafone settings.
      Please let us know if that does happen.

      Cheers,
      Pankaj

      On 25-Aug-08, at 12:20 AM, “Disqus” <notifications-

  21. Amit Avatar
    Amit

    It seems like you have to have the following two services activated on your Vodafone connection before you can start browsing: Vodafone Live and Vodafone Mobile Connect. Mobile Connect is charged at 199/- per month plus usage charges separately. Looks like its time to shift to Airtel!

  22. linosx Avatar

    Amit,
    I believe Vodafone Live is activated by default but I could be wrong.
    You're correct about Mobile Connect. It's their GPRS service that's
    required to connect to any Internet services like email/browsing/IM
    that are outside Vodafone Live. I think Vodafone has a 1GB of data
    transfer for Rs. 999/month but it's been a while since I checked.
    Cheers,
    Pankaj

  23. Abhay Avatar
    Abhay

    hi,
    I previously had blackberry pearl phone and a postpaid connection from vodafone with the mobile connect internet service for 499 Rs ie (data service)per month. now i changed my phone set to iphone jailbreaked to 1.1.4 and poped in the sim card,everything was working perfectly.
    Recently i again jailbreaked to 2.2 with Pwnage everything was alright but i was not able to connect to internet except through my WiFi
    and there r no advance settings in the general/network settings

    PS: My vodafone mobile connect activiated long back

    please help
    thanks in advance
    abhay

    1. linosx Avatar

      Abhay,
      You should synch your iPhone with iTunes. When iTunes asks to update
      your carrier settings, say yes. If that still doesn't work, you
      should probably call vodafone. Good luck though.
      Pankaj

  24. Rajiv Avatar

    Thanks a ton!
    Finally GPRS is working on my Iphone.

    Bythe way that vodafone website link is not working anymore.

    1. linosx Avatar

      Thanks for pointing out the broken link. I'll try to fix it or point it to a more appropriate one.
      Cheers

  25. pp Avatar
    pp

    i can see E on my phone but when I got to settings general – network it says VPN and no EDGE settings icon is there

  26. J Avatar
    J

    Hi –

    Can you please confirm that can we access internet/EDGE on iphone using mobile connect 199. ?

    They said that you required only 499 or 699 data plan for this.

  27. harish Avatar
    harish

    hi
    I'm purchase iphone 16 Gb from singapor & use in india, I'm already unlock the iphone from singapor, now i'm using vodaphone internet, but in my iphone edge option not come, what problem

  28. Tejas Chandarana Avatar
    Tejas Chandarana

    i want 2 ask u dat is vodafone sim card usable in apple iphone.???plz tell me quick im intrestd in bying…the new apple 3G 8gb…….

    1. linosx Avatar

      Yes Tejas. Pick up the iPhone from Vodafone and it'll work fine.

  29. ganoobhai Avatar
    ganoobhai

    i am not able to get edge in my setting-general-network, service is already activated by carrier vodafone.

  30. kamiljsr Avatar
    kamiljsr

    Hi i don't see any EDGE tab under NETWORK in my iphone. i have iphone 3G unlock and jailbroken.
    i have Vodafone prepaid connection. can any one help me how to use data (internet) on my phone.
    you can write me on <kamiljsr@gmail.com>
    Thanks in advance.

    with regards
    kamil

  31. pooja Avatar
    pooja

    I purchased my iphone 3g from australia…there net was working properly but in india it is not working n i don't know.how to start gprs mannualy.. if any body know that how to start gprs mannual settings on iphone 3g. please tel me..i shall be highly thankful to u…

  32. ishan Avatar
    ishan

    will tell u my experience after 27th dec 2010, when i’ll get my iPhone 4 🙂 🙂