If you should happen to have connected your Alltel phone using Bluetooth – be it an LG 8600 like I used or something else – then of course the next question is how you go about using the phone as a modem. Of course if you have reliable broadband, then this isn’t a typical need, but it’s still nice to know how to do it, or if it’s even possible.
I did some reading on the subject, and it seems that there is no complete guide to this – perhaps because Alltel doesn’t want you to know how to do it or just because there isn’t a lot of call for it. When I called them, the only answer I got was that I could purchase a data card and a data plan for ~$60 per month. For a backup to a service that doesn’t even cost that, it’s not really feasible. So I decided to do some exploring. The good news it that it seems to work and the speed is good. The bad news is that the connection isn’t great and the unknown is what it will cost.
The first thing you have to do is have a connection, as I described previously. Once you have that, you’ll be able to see an item that is labeled something like Bluetooth Modem. For me, it is LG AX8600 Bluetooth Modem, and I can find it in My Bluetooth Places. I just double-click and I’m presented with a fairly standard dial-up networking prompt. The only question is what you enter at this point.
It seems fairly common (from what I’ve read) that carriers will require a phone number of #777. This is certainly the case with Alltel. Your user name is your phone number @alltel.net. So if your phone number is 1234567890, then your full username is [email protected]. Though it has a leading 1 there, that’s just so that you have ten digits and I started with 1. More than likely you won’t, and you don’t want to include a 1 like you are dialing long distance. Most Charlotte numbers are in the 704 area code, so a better example would be [email protected].
Luckily, the password is a bit simpler. It’s alltel. Apparently it is always alltel. Just fill in those three pieces of information and away you go.
The only problem I had was that the connection would drop somewhat regularly. It would seem to reconnect the first couple of times it dropped, but after two drops, it wouldn’t do so again. I don’t know why this is, it just is. There might be a setting somewhere that I missed (if you know what it is, let me know and I’ll try it). Sometimes I can stay connected for 20 mintues and not have a problem. Sometimes it only lasts a few seconds. There is just no rhyme or reason to it. It might even be an incoming call, but I never received a ring or a voice mail, so I can’t say for certain.
Only one other item might be an issue, and that is billing. I’ve seen various items say that you may be billed by the amount of data you send and some say that you are billed for the minutes used. I’ll let you know when I receive my bill. I hope it’s minutes, or I’ll get a large bill next month.
Comments
12 responses to “Using Your Alltel Bluetooth Phone as a Modem”
I know that this is an old thread but I had one question about utilizing my phone as a bluetooth modem. What are the things that I need to enter to use the phone on Verizon’s network as a bluetooth modem rather than the things from Alltel such as the quote from Chad Everett which said,
“It seems fairly common (from what I’ve read) that carriers will require a phone number of #777. This is certainly the case with Alltel. Your user name is your phone number @alltel.net. So if your phone number is 1234567890, then your full username is [email protected]. Though it has a leading 1 there, that’s just so that you have ten digits and I started with 1. More than likely you won’t, and you don’t want to include a 1 like you are dialing long distance. Most Charlotte numbers are in the 704 area code, so a better example would be [email protected].”
If you could respond I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you
few tips:
*connecting with bluetooth im able to still use my phone for voice calls and texts while its connected to the internet.
*i bought a usb data cable and i tweaked the settings and it connects and loads pages WAY faster than my usb modem did. i am still able to text and talk while its connected to the internet using the cable but during a call the internet session is paused and resumes after i hang up. i guess this is because i have it set to the highest speed where as bluetooth was set to a fixed lower speed and by that, its able to split the data bandwith for both voice and data at the same time.
this is so nice to finally be working. i have a verizon wireless usb modem but i AM shutting it off from this day forward. heres the scoop: first off im an alltel (now grandfathered as verizon) prepaid customer. i ONLY pay $20 a month for unlimited nights and weekends and unlimited text. with verizon buying out alltel, they unlocked the entire alltel network, which means, as an alltel prepaid customer, where we once wernt able to have smartphones and nothing more than the cheap prepaid phones, were now able to get ANY phone we want. so, from some cheap prepaid phone, i updated to the blackberry curve! so i get to sport a new smartphone and look like a million bucks while, ahem.. i only pay $20 a month for my PREPAID service. NOW… reading this review, i decided to try connecting to the internet as you guys mentioned. i did connect through bluetooth and my speed is equal to verizon’s!! so as i said, i WILL end THAT service of $60 a month and just use my prepaid phone instead. my next test…. since i said the entire alltel network is unlocked, im gonna get an alltel usb modem, put it on my prepaid service and see if it works, which im positive it WILL also work, so that i wont need to use my phone as the modem and id only again be paying $20 a month to have unlimited internet!
Almost forgot. I had to put the quotation marks around my phone number for it to work for me. I don’t know if that is the solution for others or not, but it works for me.
Lavonda
I have been using Alltel via Bluetooth for over a month now:
My info for connecting is “myphonenumber”@alltel.net
You can type in alltel text messaging on search and it will take you to a site that you can request your password and it is then sent to your mobile phone and that is the password you put in under dial up. I then put in the number #777 for the phone number to dial and then I got hooked up. The only time I really get disconnected is when someone tries to call me.
It charges me by the minute and I have unlimited night and weekends and so far that is all it charges me and I have good service on the internet.
Better than nothing.
Good luck all.
And even when I run out of my minutes I can still hook up to the internet and it’s free.
Lavonda
Hi Justin,
I have been using my for several months. Ther are no charges. You only use your Minutes. I really use mine a lot for data so I pay an extra 25 dollars a month and get unlimited data usage on my phone. That saves my minutes for talking. I use a cable to connect myu phone to my computer. I tried bluetooth. It did no seem to work very well. Alltel tech support will not suport blue tooth connection. However if I have problems using my phone as a modem other than bluetooth they always help me soleve the probelm when I call tech suppport.
An Alltel rep told me using the phone was the same speed as using their wireless card.
Hi Justin –
From what I can tell, it does not appear that I’ve been billed for data. Only minutes. I didn’t keep a timer, but I used at least an hour’s worth, and probably transferred several MB, so that’s good news. 🙂
i have been using mine alot now and i got mine working good with bluetooth!!! i have tried it before using motorola phone tools and it never worked before but now i just connected it to the built in bluetooth software on my laptop and it works great. its nice not having that stupid cable going to the phone.
i would have posted back sooner but i can only use this at night because i dont have the data access package. my billing cycle ends here on like the 9th so ill also let you know once the bill is all issued. sounds like your billing cycle ends like the same day LOL.
Hi Justin –
Thanks for the note! I haven’t received my bill as yet (it comes due in the next couple of days), but online there doesn’t seem to be an entry for “data usage” or anything like it. I’ll definitely update everyone when I find out what happens.
Thanks for dropping by!
wow i have been using the same thing on my phone for a while now and i would really like to know if you have had any charges on your account for the data usage. i just moved so the only internet around my area is using my cell phone as a modem. i used to have high speed cable internet but i had used my phone on occasions at friends and such. i have used it alot this month and i will post back here to see if you reply back to here.
BTW its not really good to use bluetooth while using it as a modem. it just doesnt seem like it would be stable for the data to go through two wireless streams first from the tower then bluetooth from the phone. i just use a cable for mine. the bad thing about my phone is its the motorola E815 the cable is wierd i have to plug a charge into the side of the cable to keep my phone charging LOL.