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Car Forum / BMW Cars / March 2009Activating car phone in E39 540 UK - which network?
Hi all - I pick up my new (to me) 1998 540i on friday and wondered how I go about activating the car phone that's already in the car. It sits in the arm rest and is hard-wired with a curly cable. Is it simply a case of buying a sim card from eg The Link, Dixons etc? It looks like the phone takes a sim about the size of a credit card!?! I seem to recall the last time I got a PAYG sim it came as part of a credit card piece of plastic and I popped the small sim out - do you just leave the small sim as part of the big piece of plastic? Finally - will the phone be locked to a particular network? Any help would be greatfully appreciated thanks Steve Scotland, UK In the original GSM spec, SIM cards were indeed the size of credit cards. As you note, that is also how they still are delivered, leaving it to the end user to break off the small piece that fits in modern phones. Phones are usually locked to a particular provider only if that provider subsidizes the cost of the phone. If the phone was installed by the previous owner it very well might be locked to a specific provider. If the phone as original to the car I would doubt very much that it is locked. Perhaps if you go to your favourite phone retailer and explain the situation, they will let you borrow an active SIM card to try in your car and see if it works? In most countries the network operator is obligated to give you the code to unlock the phone after the initial contract term is up. Only problem is that you need to know who that provider is so you can contact them. > Hi all - I pick up my new (to me) 1998 540i on friday and wondered how I > go about activating the car phone that's already in the car. It sits in the [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Steve > Scotland, UK > Hi all - I pick up my new (to me) 1998 540i on friday and wondered > how I go about activating the car phone that's already in the car. It [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Steve > Scotland, UK O2 works fine, heard problems with orange?!? > Is it simply a case of buying a sim card from eg The Link, Dixons > etc? Yes. They may charge up to ?30 - you can get them from net-based retailers for under ?10. > do you just leave the small sim as part of the big piece of plastic? Yes. > Finally - will the phone be locked to a particular network? Maybe. There's a good chance it will only work with an O2 or Vodafone SIM. (Orange and T-Mobile operate on a different frequency which, IIRC, BMW didn't offer in '98) >Hi all - I pick up my new (to me) 1998 540i on friday and wondered how I >go about activating the car phone that's already in the car. It sits in the [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >Steve >Scotland, UK I believe that the VODAPHONE cards work but I would advise (and did it myself) junk that load of crap and get a car kit for you current cell/mobile phone. I have the Nokia 6310 and it works just fine and I can take it with me when I leave the car which you can't with the BMW one. Hugh Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it! Hugh Gundersen hsg@h-gee.co.uk hsg@bognor-bill.co.uk http://www.bognor-bill.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK ------------------------------------------------- Vyisder Asmeni Orsisarsis Asderisorsis. B.Cozderiz Vunarz PERORZ ------------------------------------------------- >Hi all - I pick up my new (to me) 1998 540i on friday and wondered how I >go about activating the car phone that's already in the car. It sits in the [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >Steve >Scotland, UK BTW do not use ORANGE, VIRGIN or T-Mobile as the frequency is wrong for the phone unit. Hugh Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it! Hugh Gundersen hsg@h-gee.co.uk hsg@bognor-bill.co.uk http://www.bognor-bill.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK ------------------------------------------------- Vyisder Asmeni Orsisarsis Asderisorsis. B.Cozderiz Vunarz PERORZ ------------------------------------------------- You can also buy a SIM card adaptor, which is credit card sized, with a small self adhesive recess to hold the SIM card. I bought one about 3 years ago for ?6 from my contract supplier. Simon > Hi all - I pick up my new (to me) 1998 540i on friday and wondered how I > go about activating the car phone that's already in the car. It sits in the [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Steve > Scotland, UK I find a number of queries and comments a little puzzling. I am not familiar with the phone specifically but if it has a SIM card slot then why can't one use any SIM card? If the SIM card slot in the phone is big one may need to insert the whole credit-card-sized card. I know that service providers can now block phones when they are told of the serial or EMEI number, but I was not aware that a handset is programmed to work with a specific provider only. Note Hugh Gundersen's comment about networks. What he really means is that the phone is only single-band at 900 MHz, which is why he implies using O2 or Vodafone only. Check that the phone is, indeed, single band. Five years go it might have been. As an aside, I am wondering whether T-Mobile and Orange now have 900 MHz transmitters, just as Vodafone and O2 have 1800 MHz ones. (Virgin is a virtual network, of course.) DAS Confused from Notting Hill  SignatureFor direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- > You can also buy a SIM card adaptor, which is credit card sized, with a > small self adhesive recess to hold the SIM card. [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Steve > > Scotland, UK > I find a number of queries and comments a little puzzling. > > I am not familiar with the phone specifically but if it has a SIM > card slot then why can't one use any SIM card? For the reasons you yourself outline below - single-band and/or locked hardware. > I know that service providers can now block phones when they are told > of the serial or EMEI number, but I was not aware that a handset is > programmed to work with a specific provider only. All Orange handsets are locked to Orange. Some O2/Voda/TM handsets are locked. Unlocking costs range from free to ?20. > As an aside, I am wondering whether T-Mobile and Orange now have 900 > MHz transmitters, just as Vodafone and O2 have 1800 MHz ones. A few test ones, but nothing that would represent a usable service for a single band phone. >I find a number of queries and comments a little puzzling. > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >or Vodafone only. Check that the phone is, indeed, single band. Five years >go it might have been. It was and --- still is! >As an aside, I am wondering whether T-Mobile and Orange now have 900 MHz >transmitters, just as Vodafone and O2 have 1800 MHz ones. (Virgin is a >virtual network, of course.) All the Virgin/T-Mobile (same network) and Orange are PCM or 1800Mhz the others are 900Mhz the reason for dual band phones is so that you a, can swap networks. b, only one type of phone need be made (cost). c, when "roaming" you can use whatever network happens to have an agreement with your provider. BMW used Vodaphone network (I think) @ 900MHz. Still crap and if it has the steering wheel controls use the Nokia phone that use the CARK-1 and then contact Connect2 for a complete kit to use the original wheel controls and speakers Hugh >DAS >Confused from Notting Hill Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it! Hugh Gundersen hsg@h-gee.co.uk hsg@bognor-bill.co.uk http://www.bognor-bill.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK ------------------------------------------------- Vyisder Asmeni Orsisarsis Asderisorsis. B.Cozderiz Vunarz PERORZ ------------------------------------------------- > All the Virgin/T-Mobile (same network) and Orange are PCM or 1800Mhz the others > are 900Mhz the reason for dual band phones is so that you > a, can swap networks. > b, only one type of phone need be made (cost). > c, when "roaming" you can use whatever network happens to have an agreement with You are tight that T-Mobile and Orange use only 1800 MHz. however: Vodaphone uses both 900 MHz and 1800 MHz. O2 uses both 900 MHz and 1800 MHz. And to make the confusion complete, most US GSM carriers use 1900 MHz, with some also using 850MHz >> All the Virgin/T-Mobile (same network) and Orange are PCM or 1800Mhz the others >> are 900Mhz the reason for dual band phones is so that you [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >And to make the confusion complete, most US GSM carriers use 1900 MHz, >with some also using 850MHz This is because some daft nut in the US said that 800 & 1800 were too close to ICBM control systems (Inter Continental Ballistic Missile) and they used slightly higher frequencies. However the truth is that they wanted to be DIFFERENT and totally incompatible with the rest of the world as they are with NTSC (Never twice the same colour) TV and BIG cars with nowhere to go (or very seldom go outside two blocks from home) ...... Ho Hmm..... Hugh Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it! Hugh Gundersen hsg@h-gee.co.uk hsg@bognor-bill.co.uk http://www.bognor-bill.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK ------------------------------------------------- Vyisder Asmeni Orsisarsis Asderisorsis. B.Cozderiz Vunarz PERORZ ------------------------------------------------- See below. DAS SignatureFor direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- > Vodaphone uses both 900 MHz and 1800 MHz. > O2 uses both 900 MHz and 1800 MHz. Yes. At least as regards O2/Cellnet, the network started installing 1800 MHz transmitters to improve coverage years ago. It's not a secret but it's never been publicised. I was sure -- and you and others have confirmed -- that Vodafone has the same. (BTW, it's VodaFone, not ...PH...) > And to make the confusion complete, most US GSM carriers use 1900 MHz, > with some also using 850MHz I knew about the 1900 MHz in US (have been using a tri-band phone for years and go to North America) but not about 850 MHz. Is that widespread? Is 850 MHz considered GSM-compatible? I read that GSM-compatible services are rising rapidly in North America, but I think that there is a price difference. For North American readers: 900 MHz is, of course, the original GSM frequency and is the one which spread internationally first and on which international roaming first started and rapidly spread (sounding the death-knell for widespread, cheap satellite telephony, as it became redundant for most people). > I knew about the 1900 MHz in US (have been using a tri-band phone for years > and go to North America) but not about 850 MHz. Is that widespread? Is 850 > MHz considered GSM-compatible? I read that GSM-compatible services are > rising rapidly in North America, but I think that there is a price > difference. 850 MHz is relatively new, Cingular (one of the 4 main carriers) placed the first GSM 850 call in May of 2002. Most of Cingular's phones are now at least dual band (850 & 1900). The old, analog systems AMPS, and later N-AMPS (both similar to the NMT system used in many European countries), operated in the 850 MHz band. The digital D-AMPS (TDMA) also operated at 850 MHz (and other frequencies as well). Many US carriers "own" 850 MHz spectrum, and the introduction of GSM 850 is to be able to reuse that spectrum. AT&T is also using GSM 850. GSM is on the rise in the US. Both Cingular and AT&T are concentrating on GSM even though they operate different networks also in some areas. Close to 60 US carriers use GSM. Prices vary by geographic region, but there is no discernible difference in price between GSM carriers and competing carriers in the same market. It seems prices are higher in the US than in Europe, but it is also hard to compare. Most plans in the US include free long distance and at least hundreds of minutes of talk time at a fixed price. I pay US$36 / month for free long distance, 300 day time minutes and unlimited night / weekend minutes. I also have a European plan with no monthly charges, and about US$ 0.37 / minute for domestic calls (I keep that second plan because it is free when not used and because US carriers really stick it to you when you are romaing overseas; A cross-town call in London on my Cingular plan is US$2.99 / minute vs. US$0.43 on the other plan). >I find a number of queries and comments a little puzzling. > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >or Vodafone only. Check that the phone is, indeed, single band. Five years >go it might have been. It was and --- still is! >As an aside, I am wondering whether T-Mobile and Orange now have 900 MHz >transmitters, just as Vodafone and O2 have 1800 MHz ones. (Virgin is a >virtual network, of course.) All the Virgin/T-Mobile (same network) and Orange are PCM or 1800Mhz the others are 900Mhz the reason for dual band phones is so that you a, can swap networks. b, only one type of phone need be made (cost). c, when "roaming" you can use whatever network happens to have an agreement with your provider. BMW used Vodaphone network (I think) @ 900MHz. Still crap and if it has the steering wheel controls use the Nokia phone that use the CARK-1 and then contact Connect2 for a complete kit to use the original wheel controls and speakers Hugh >DAS >Confused from Notting Hill Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it! Hugh Gundersen hsg@h-gee.co.uk hsg@bognor-bill.co.uk http://www.bognor-bill.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK ------------------------------------------------- Vyisder Asmeni Orsisarsis Asderisorsis. B.Cozderiz Vunarz PERORZ ------------------------------------------------- Thanks for all the info folks - this is my 1st post here and I'm very impressed with how friendly everyone is Thanks again Steve >Thanks for all the info folks - this is my 1st post here and I'm very >impressed with how friendly everyone is > >Thanks again >Steve Just wait till you say something stupid! They'll shoot you.... Hugh Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it! Hugh Gundersen hsg@h-gee.co.uk hsg@bognor-bill.co.uk http://www.bognor-bill.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK ------------------------------------------------- Vyisder Asmeni Orsisarsis Asderisorsis. B.Cozderiz Vunarz PERORZ ------------------------------------------------- Well, it may not be stupid to 80% of the people, but somebody will take umbrage... DAS SignatureFor direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- > >Thanks for all the info folks - this is my 1st post here and I'm very > >impressed with how friendly everyone is [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > PERORZ > ------------------------------------------------- Thanks for the help everyone. I bought an 02 sim for ?10 - works perfectly cheers Steve Welcome to O2. You could phone me cheaply on 07860-....(although at least on some tariffs O2 no longer charge more for calling numbers on other networks). :-) DAS SignatureFor direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- > Thanks for the help everyone. > I bought an 02 sim for ?10 - works perfectly > > cheers > Steve ..he he, I have the same problem - got a 1998 540i 3 weeks back, bough an O2 sim card, phone insists that I "check the card"! Any ideas anyone? I assume that unless the phone recognises the card, cannot register it by dialing 450..... Any help would be appreciated. Thanks -- bimmerbo Message Origin: TRAVEL.co Sounds like you are locked to a particular network. > ..he he, I have the same problem - got a 1998 540i 3 weeks back, bought > an O2 sim card, phone insists that I "check the card"! [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Thanks. >..he he, I have the same problem - got a 1998 540i 3 weeks back, bought >an O2 sim card, phone insists that I "check the card"! [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > >Thanks. The problem is that the system only used Vodaphone I think. Th eBMW system is a fixed setup and the phone were either eriksson or motorola on 900Mhz??? or something like that. Ther is a bluetooth conversion available for the car - ask your dealer or go to bmwoem.co.uk - or do a google search for bme-bluetooth. I have seen a US site but I know parrot do something that works. SignatureSir Hugh of Bognor The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it! Hugh Gundersen hsg@h-gee.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK |
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