Verizon gives in, allows DUN from cellphones

Verizon Wireless has given in to consumer demand, and will now allow customers to use most compatible cellphones as broadband modems. Verizon customers have long grumbled about the company's unwillingness to allow customers to use their cellphones to connect computers to the internet, especially since there was never any technical reason not to do so, and many of the phones are capable of connecting over the company's high-speed EV-DO network. Verizon will begin charging $59.99 per month for the service, which initially extends to the LG VX9800 (pictured), Motorola RAZR V3c, Motorola E815 and LG VX8100. Verizon is, however, keeping at least one restriction: DUN via Bluetooth will still be officially off-limits; the only way to legally connect will be via USB cables. Uh huh. But we're ok with that, right?

[AceMilo @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:10PM]

Use login qnc and pw qnc and dial to number #777, it uses airtime but other than that its free and I've been using it for years with verizon.

[JW @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:13PM]

These F'ing meatheads need to quit f'ing with Bluetooth and let us use it for DUN!!! I swear, after years of putting up with their crap, including crappy phones and weak selection, I'm going to Cingular as soon as my contract is up.

Hey Verizon, "Can you hear me now!"

[lostmarxbro @ May 30th 2009 1:47PM]

Blu soil has compatible bt for verizen dun

[Rick @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:17PM]

yeah me too. i use my v710 and use DUN via bluetooth. this is news?

[tigs @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:19PM]

i assume this will also be available on the Treo 700w?

[J @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:21PM]

The qnc/777 thing doesn't work with ev-do, so those of us with a V3c have had to completely disable ev-do to be able to use it that way. (Then it reverts to the 1xRTT or whatever they call the older stuff.)

[hajmola @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:26PM]

Yes, this is news. Previously, nearly all EVDO-capable handsets had DUN functionality disabled by default and getting around this was not only cumbersome, but also grounds for service termination.

[phlavor @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:27PM]

I've only loosely followed this issue. Can someone explain to me what Verison's beef with Bluetooth is? Is it as simple as they just want to sell cables? I can't really see how it benifits them to figth so hard to nerf a technology like this.

[mikeb @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:38PM]

I'm so tired of Verizon disabling my phone's features. I'm planning on moving to Cingular as well. I bought my v710 for bluetooth sync and yes it would be nice to have bluetooth dialup on the newer phones, but VZ wants you to pay for everything, like transferring photos, ringtones, etc.

If they would just stop crippling the phones!

[Matthew @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:40PM]

It's just a habit with the US carriers. All of their employees came from Ma Bell, who was the master of captive customers and limited choice. When they spread out to the Baby Bells and then the wireless subsidiaries, they kept using the same tricks to restrict competition among wireless companies. That's why they reflexively do things like disabling functionality and locking handsets to their networks.

[Grizz @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:50PM]

Dont get caught up in the title.

Verizon is only extending its 60$ data plan to a couple more phones.

They are giving nothing away.

You still need to hack your phone to use it with your own 20$ dialup account.

[Vonkeswick @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:50PM]

i hate and love verizon at the same time. i love their unrivaled coverage area, but i hate their customer service, and i HATE what they do to their cell phones. they cripple the hell out of them. and its expensive. 40 bucks for basic + 10 for insurance and text messaging + 60 for internet = too much mony every month. all in all, i wish they had a cell phone that had full bluetooth and wasnt five grand (exaggerating, but quite expensive none the less)

[Andrew @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:51PM]

Does this mean that I can use my lg-vx7000 to connect to my dialup provider (university of michigan) via usb cable for no charges at all even though I am not hooked up on ev-do?

[tachion @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:53PM]

They hate Bluetooth because it enables users to synch their contacts (which they charge you $10 to do, or $5/month with a GIN program) and because you can put wallpapers/ringtones/etc. for free and not pay $1.99 for their ringtone service, or $7 for their games.

In other words, they hate it because they can't make money with it.

[mb @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:56PM]

here's little known fact....if you sign up for V-Cast ($15-month), all EV-DO service (WAP & DUN) is free...shhh...don't tell...

[dbcrofts @ Feb 2nd 2006 5:04PM]

I bought my vx8000 early last year and the rep told me that subscribing to the VCAST service mean't unlimited mobile internet. The he said that unlimited mobile internet included using the phone as a modem if I bought the Mobile Office kit. I bought the kit and with only a few minor minor device driver headaches, I've been using my phone as an EVDO card for almost a year. The best part is the VCAST service is only $15 month for unlimited data.

The VZAccess software is a little quirky. I get dropped once every hour and occasionally have to reset by phone or reboot, but all in all it works very well.

[Robert Preseau @ Feb 2nd 2006 5:08PM]

Mmmmmmmm my purdy phone. :-)

[Mark @ Feb 2nd 2006 5:11PM]

Verizon Wired

[Brian S. Jones @ Feb 2nd 2006 5:11PM]

Can you tell me how you are using DUN with the V710? I want to use it with my PPC like I did my old e120 but my PPC can't find the modem on the 710.
Thanks

[tachion @ Feb 2nd 2006 5:20PM]

You can use any phone as a modem and use only your minutes. This is true even with VCast, meaning that you can get unlimited EV-DO access on nights and weekends.

I wouldn't recommend it, though... if you look around the internet, there are numerous reports of people being charged for data (i.e. per KB) or having their contracts automatically canceled and beng charged the ETF for doing this... it explicitly states that teathering without a data plan is prohibited in the contract you signed.

[kash @ Feb 2nd 2006 5:22PM]

tmobile all the way.. edge internet $19.95.. cheapest voice plans in the country...and uncrippled phones.. best of all u can get unlock codes for your phone if ur a good customer.. its a great up and comming cellphone company.. i switched from verizon

[Brian @ Feb 2nd 2006 5:22PM]

I've been using my "LG" as a modem for a while now, though I only get slightly better than dailup speeds, I still got free wireless while I'm on the road and don't have any other option.

If you have an old mobile office kit, just locate the drivers for your phone (you can use third party) and run the connector software. It works fine and dandy.

[Toe TagR @ Feb 2nd 2006 5:51PM]

Everyones right...and that is the reason Ive switched from Sprint to Nextel to Verizon and finally to CINGULAR. Yes, Ive paid about $1000 in cancellation fees, but my hp iPAQ CINGULAR phone kicks @$$. GPS navigation, Bluetooth, QUAD band, MP3 player, nice headset that that shuts off for incoming calls, syncs with MS Outlook the list goes on

But the real reason I swithced to cingular was It has THE LARGEST RECEPTION IN THE NATION!

and that is a fact

[Finished.Law.School @ Feb 2nd 2006 5:59PM]

ATT Blue sucks thanks to the raping by Cingular but it is not as bad as Verizon ripping everyone off by selling crippled phones while continuing to advertise the full capabilities of the phones.
Verizon sucks.

[Xultar @ Feb 2nd 2006 6:14PM]

WOW I didn't know that Verizon charged to allow you to sync your contacts!!! That is CRAZY. OMG.
I don't see why you couldn't just get a cord and a program from the OEM and do it yourself? Back when there was no bluetooth that is what I did. There are even third-party applications that will do the same thing for cheaper.

[GadgetDragon @ Feb 2nd 2006 6:25PM]

EVDO via bluetooth on the E815 rocks. I use it on both my powerbook and vaio. Just type ##DIALUP on the phone's keypad and you should see 'Dialup Networking Enabled'. Then use the exact same scripts as are used for the PC5220 card. Check google; there are lots of howtos.

I don't mind the per month price; it's a fair shake for how bloody fast EVDO is in the right markets. It just pissed me off that you had to do it with a PCMCIA. Now I can legally do it with my no-PCMCIA-havin' 12" powerbook and the E815, which is a really powerful combo for portability.

[Rick @ Feb 2nd 2006 6:36PM]

#20 - I diddnt do anything too special to link my v710 to my computer. i just set the phone to discover and searched for available devices thru windows explorer. if/when your ppc finds ur phone, click on "discover services" and DUN should appear. unfortunately it only finds my phone about half of the time when i go to look for it. It isnt a reliable solution, so when it works its more of a "bonus" than anything else. it might be my dell 600m's built in bluetooth that sucks, but i'm too lazy to figure out if that is the real problem. for a real howto, google "verizon DUN". theres a bunch of tutorials on how to set it up once u get this far. if u got any other questions email me at rickhahn13 [at] earthlink.net

[�j-�nit� @ Feb 2nd 2006 7:08PM]

Glad to see that others are fed up with Verizon's bullshit! Too bad I switched from Cingular to Verizon
last year....I will now be crawling back to them whether I have to pay the early termination fees or wait it out another year! :(

[Vimal @ Feb 2nd 2006 7:49PM]

I had it with verizon. I am glad I left them and have never looked back. If verizon isnt careful, this will become much more common place. They are soo slow to change!

[Robert Vassar @ Feb 2nd 2006 8:20PM]

##Dialup works great with the E815 - just don't do the recent Flash Update - otherwise you'll loose that capability!

Ma Bell Mentality Rules with Verizon!

[dan @ Feb 2nd 2006 8:28PM]

#26 or anyone else,
when you are using the phone as a EVDO modem, can you receive
phone calls at the same time? Or do they go to voicemail?

Thank,
Dan

[raaaaaa @ Feb 2nd 2006 8:36PM]

thanks for the bone Verizon!

I need bluetooth to work on my V3c, it is the only option. I have a tomtom go 700 that allows me to connect my phone to it. it lets you do everything ( I mean everything) you can do with the phone via the tomtom device. but being that my phone is cripled I can't get online with it and use the many features that are available.

[Baxter Madu @ Feb 2nd 2006 8:49PM]

"I will now be crawling back to [Cingular]" Yeah, right.

There should really be a boycott against this company... they are criminals and yet they're still making tons of money. oh right..

"It's the network" You have to own a Verizon phone nowadays because everyone else who doesn't pay for data (yet) and doesn't care about ridiculously difficult to configure features like DUN already has Verizon and IN-Network calling.

[dan @ Feb 2nd 2006 11:38PM]

Nobody answered my question so I guess it was obvious,
no you can't use the phone for calls when it's being used as a
modem. So why do this? Sounds like the old days of dialup
when you couldn't use your home phone while online.
Why not get a PC card instead? If Verizon is going to charge you
$60 a month for EVDO, why tie up your cellphone service
while using your EVDO service?

Dan

[vagrant @ Feb 3rd 2006 12:06AM]

I stopped using Verizon years ago eXactly because of the Bluetooth issue. I really do get more with T-Mobile. My PDA gets more, my laptop gets more, sharing Cingular's towers here in California that are equipped with EDGE and I pay only $20 for unlimited Internet instead of $80...yeah...I get more. Thanks T-mobile. (Oh yeah, the new MDA PPC w/WiFi, EDGE & BT...yeah, more.)

[Paul @ Feb 3rd 2006 1:58AM]

I have a HTC Apache on Verizon and have used it for tethering already. Also got bluetooth DUN working too. No charges, no hassles. Oh, and I use Skype over EVDO once in a while too.
Yes, Verizon's crippling sucks. But get around it and you have one of the sweetest services. I switched from T-Mobile and EVDO is so much faster than EDGE. I may go back once T-Mo has the 3G though.

But cingular? They suck. Small 3G coverage, and they're rated the worst company pretty consistently. AND they're as expensive as Verizon. Screw that.


Oh, and when I'm tethered I still get incoming calls with no problem.

[macstibs @ Feb 3rd 2006 3:54AM]

holy crap... i think they heard me now:

http://www.howardforums.com/showpost.php?p=6538122&postcount=18

[BM5k @ Feb 3rd 2006 6:18AM]

About fucking time...

[Zach @ Feb 3rd 2006 11:36AM]

The V (pictured) comes with Bluetooth DUN already enabled. You don't have to go in and turn it on, only specify how to dial into Verizon's data provider. You do that with #777, just make sure you're in a 1x only area or force it into 1x because otherwise it tries to connect with ev-do and unless you have ev-do service (ie VCast or Broadband access) it won't work. This is really easy on a Powerbook.

Also, if you don't mind just using 1x and are worried about contract violations, buy mobile web 2.0 for $5 a month (unlimited) and you can dial in to your heart's content.

[Mike B. @ Feb 14th 2006 12:42AM]

I just got my E815 upgraded to teh $15/month EVDO service. I'm using bluetooth to connect to my HP NC6230 laptop and it works at 80-95Kbps (about 12KB sustained download). Is this speed typical? My buddy gets much faster - 80KB sustained download which would e about 600kbps+ but he is using a USB hard wire to his older LG phone (which didn't require any hacking to get it to work). His LG even has TX/RX levels on teh front pannel when in use - very cool. I'd be curious to hear what other speeds people are getting via luetooth or hardwired.

[Patrick @ Feb 19th 2006 2:44PM]

Verizons v cast LG phones 8100 and 9800 used as hi speed modem how to:
purchase usb cable (available in mobile office kit or music essentials kit-cheeper)install software so you get the drivers.
plug in phone to computer and open control panel, go to network connections and choose create new connection click next and click setup manually connection next pick the connect using dialup.
Then choose your phone and click next. put in whatever you want for isp name and next.Put in #777 for your dialup # next Type in your 10 digit phone # followed by @vzw3g.com for username and then vzw for password.
now go into your phone press ok then 0 the code is all 0's. pick item 3 network select, then 1 for mode and pick 1x only, keep track of what your doing so you can undo it in the future if you want. Pick ok. Now call verizon and purchase the mobile web 2.0. it only costs $5.00 a month. It only takes a few minutes for it to kick in and your on your way at speeds around 850kbps.
NOTE; these instructions work, but I just did it to my phone today so if verizon catches you its your problem. From what I understand they wont catch you if you have mobile web because it showes up on their end as data time and they think you are using mobile web.
I'm not a phone nerd so I can't help you, this is just what i've picked up on the www. good luck

[Ashutosh Singh @ Feb 20th 2006 6:34PM]

Hi,
Has anyone been able to use the EVDO networking on the Verizon's razr v3c, using the bluetooth.
Ashutosh

[Patrick @ Feb 20th 2006 8:18PM]

verizon modem update to string 42.
I almost forgot to tell you to open network connections and double click the new modem/phone you just setup and open the properties tab go to security and click advanced and open settings select pap only. Now your good to go.

[Ashutosh Singh @ Feb 21st 2006 3:06PM]

Hi,
I am still getting the error 734 while it is trying to "registering your computer to the network." I looked at the help for that message and tried the fix for using LCP extension etc, it still did not work.
Ashutosh

[Mick @ Feb 25th 2006 11:18AM]

Looks like Verizon has disabled DUN in the newest Moto E815s. ##DIALUP no longer works. New sw is 8720_01.1E.00. Working version on my old phone was 8720_01.17.03. Don't upgrade! Bluetooth sync still works, though.

[LJS @ Mar 1st 2006 3:54PM]

Man, I do want to get that V... Another 2 year commitment is pretty tough to handle, though.

[Shadowjack @ Mar 14th 2006 3:36PM]

if you have a good bluetooth stack in your laptop it works flawlessley with my e815 and my laptop.

[Lapita @ Mar 25th 2006 12:59PM]

Many many thanks to Patrick on thread# 42 and 44. I could successfully make the connection from my LG6100 phone using verizon mobile web service. I also used PAP security setting and it works too.

The only part I could not do was to "now go into your phone press ok then 0 the code is all 0's. pick item 3 network select, then 1 for mode and pick 1x only." The phone shows 3G1X with Tx/Rx packet bars, but doesn't respond to the OK button. Is this only for bluetooth connection? Or am I missing something?

Patrick, appreciate your help on this.

[Brad Midgley @ Apr 13th 2006 11:41AM]

I am using this $60 plan with an e815. Verizon keeps erroneously charging me airtime whenever EVDO isn't available.

I found posts from someone with this problem. They had to upgrade the firmware on the phone to the new version which also disables bt dun before the bill would come out right.

Verizon can't take away my bt dun!!

[Babbaboochick @ May 11th 2006 6:09AM]

I am probably in the wrong blog, but here it goes....Does anybody have a BMW with bluetooth installed? I am having trouble with syncronizing my Verizon phone to my beemer. I wonder if I have to buy a phone through BMW or if bluetooth is still crap. With countless hours of self attempts, and bluetooth & BMW customer service (who couldn't do it either) I have yet see see bluetooth even work with anything including computer stuff that I've tried to sync.

By the way to actually add to this blogg...I've been with Verzion (fka: Airtouch Cellular) for what I just found out to be 10 years now. I have never had any major problems with customer service...hmmm? I agree phones have taken a long time to be come competitive. All my friends with Cingular sound like they're in a garbage can with a ball gag in their mouth. In Los Angeles, their calls are always dropping, and Sprint....well they just suck.
If any body can provide feedback great!
Thanks!
Babbaboochick