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Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Android G1 Phone in Canada on Rogers

Update: Also see my recent Nexus One in Canada post.


Getting the G1 working in Canada on Rogers' GSM network isn't hard, but you won't be able to use a true 3G connection - you'll only get an EDGE connection. For me, that's good enough and I love the phone. I've never owned an iPhone so I'll leave the iPhone vs G1 debate to others.

You'll need an unlocked phone. Apparently T-Mobile will unlock any phone for any customer who has been with T-Mobile at least 3 months. Of course, someone will write an unlocking program so new customers don't have to wait 3 months. You may also be able to buy an unlocked G1 from non-T-Mobile sources.

Put a Rogers SIM card into the G1 phone. You should have an iPhone/SmartPhone data plan with Rogers - the Blackberry plan won't work (at least not with these instructions). When I called to switch my plan I said that I had an iPhone - no point in confusing the operator. With the SIM in place you should have voice connectivity right away.

To get data working, go to Settings | Wireless controls | Mobile networks | Access Point Names. You'll see a long list of T-Mobile networks. Press the menu button, select New APN, then modify these values:
  • Name: Rogers
  • APN: internet.com
  • Username: wapuser1
  • Password: wap
  • MCC: 302 - should be preset correctly
  • MNC: 72 - should be preset correctly
Don't forget to press menu and Save. If you're in an EDGE coverage area, an EDGE icon should appear in the status bar next to the signal strength indicator. Mine appeared within a couple of seconds.

Browsing, email, video and SMS works, but I haven't been able to get MMS working. It may be that my Rogers plan isn't configured for MMS. I think the below settings should work - if you find they do work or what to change to make them work, please let me know. Create a New APN and set these values:
  • Name: Rogers MMS
  • APN: media.com
  • Username: media
  • Password: mda01
  • Server: 172.25.0.107 - or maybe this should be * - I've tried both
  • MMSC: http://mms.gprs.rogers.com
  • APN type: mms
EDGE is as good as it gets in Canada with the G1 hardware. The G1 has quad-band (850/900/1800/1900Mhz) GSM/GPRS/EDGE, but only dual band (1700/2100Mhz) UMTS/HSPA (3G). Rogers operates their network on 850/1900Mhz, so the G1 hardware can only use EDGE. Bell and Telus are building "4G" networks but they'll also operate on 850/1900Mhz. So, I don't recommend buying a G1 for use in Canada if you're a heavy data user. My unlocked handset came from my employer and replaced my EDGE Blackberry, so I'm very happy. Hopefully there will be other Android hardware released soon that will be compatible with 850/1900Mhz 3G in Canada.

I discovered a good Rogers developer document [pdf]. It's targeted at developers building applications for the Rogers network, but lists everything needed to get non-Rogers hardware connected. The first few pages are also a good overview of GSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA, 3G, etc.

Update: To clarify, an EDGE connection is usually slower than a 3G connection. I say "usually" because it depends on a ton of network factors.

Update: If you have a G1 with a T-Mobile plan, you can bring it to Canada and it will just work, including data. You'll be roaming on Rogers network and you'll be charged whatever T-Mobile's roaming rates are, but no additional configuration is needed.

Update: Make sure to check out the comments for lots of other settings that work, including on some other Canadian carriers.

55 comments:

Carlito said...

Great informative post. I have a question though; is a data plan absolutely necessary? If I plan on only using wifi (where available), could I just keep my regular rogers plan with an unlocked G1?

Thanks!

Unknown said...

Yes, you could use the G1 without a data plan in Canada. With a Rogers SIM, don't setup the APN information listed above and I don't think you'll be charged (although, it is Rogers...). When the phone is able to connect to WiFi you'll get data.

Even with a data plan, the phone will use a WiFi network for data if it can find an open connection. The WiFi settings allow you to connect to protected networks, so at home and in the office I'm on those. Hopefully that's keeping my Rogers data usage down, but Rogers has been "unable to display my account" for a week or two. I'll post something when I get the bill.

If you're in Canada with a T-Mobile SIM, you can turn off data to keep your bill down: Setting | Wireless controls | Mobile networks then make sure Data roaming is unchecked. You'll still get data via WiFi when connected.

Unknown said...

To be clear, if you have a Rogers SIM and don't setup the Rogers APN information, you won't be charged, but you also won't have data access except on WiFi. Applications will still try to get data when not on WiFi (unless you manage to find the settings to disable them all) but will fail. I can't imagine that Rogers would charge you for failed connection attempts.

Carlito said...

Okay, great, thanks. Yes, that's the thing, with Rogers, you never know what they will hit you with when comes the bill... Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'll give it a try, I really want that phone, and don't feel like waiting until Spring '09, or whenever they say that the phone will officially be available in Canada.

Thanks again for the info!

Anonymous said...

I have Fido and I cannot get it activated. When I enter the Fido Sim card, it will ask me to activate it to Google and does not work.

Your post was great and clear, can you help me.

Anonymous said...

I have the same problem as MDVERMA.

Anonymous said...

Update.....it would not work with a Fido SIM card, so I used a Rogers sim card and after a few hours or trying, I got it activated. THANK YOU OLIVER, BIG TIME!!!!

Now, I still cannot get the above settings for Fido that work. Does anyone know the above settings for fido to make it work?

Thanks

Unknown said...

@mdverma - Interesting. It sounds like you're going through the very first setup screens with a Rogers/Fido SIM in the phone. That's uncharted territory for me. I was in the US with a T-Mobile card the first time I setup the phone so got through the initial screens easily.

In other news, http://www.unlock-tmobileg1.com/ has become the first site that can unlock G1 phones. Too bad they charge 24USD. Disclaimer: I haven't tried it and have no idea if it works. Anyone got any experience?

Anonymous said...

Where did you guys buy your G1 Phone?

Anonymous said...

Hey oliver how is the android market? does it work well through rogers? and do you still receive updates?

Unknown said...

The Android market works well and updates come through fine. I usually wait until I'm connected to WiFi at home or in the office just so things go faster.

Ross McKegney said...

Works just fine with Fido -- see my post here: http://rmlog.blogspot.com/2008/11/google-g1-phone-in-canada.html

Use APN: internet.fido.ca, user/pw fido. I unlocked my phone using the $24 unlock service, and straight to Fido Edge with no problems.

Anonymous said...

For people who are setting up for first time with a Rogers SIM card:

You need to delete all the Tmobile APN's and then set up the Rogers APN (at least I did). You can then connect to Google and get through the first screen.

To get to APN set up screen, press 'menu' when in the google account set up wizard.

To delete an APN: click the mouse ball to view the APC, press menu, select the 'delete' option.

To add an APN (like Rogers): click 'menu' from the screen that lists all APNs.

PS. to Oliver - great post! Maybe you can add this info to your updates above?

Unknown said...

How do you close application on your g1? :<

KBW said...

Where is a good place to buy the G1 phone unlocked i am in canada.

I am near the ottawa/toronto area

Unknown said...

I'm using g1 on fido. When I tried to download apps from Android Market using wifi, it's just stuck "downloading".
Does anyone have same problems?

Thanks

Eric said...

I tried your MMS settings and it still didn;t work for me ; <

do you have any other settings that might work?

Unknown said...

You *will* need a data plan in order to activate the phone, unfortunately.

I've been able to do this successfully with Fido (Vancouver) but it always shows me as roaming for some reason. Is anyone else having this issue?

Erica said...

Gregg: I unlocked my G1 and am successfully using it with Fido, and yes, it shows up as "roaming" on Fido's network. For any other Fido users here, the APN settings are:

Name: Fido
APN: internet.fido.ca
Username: fido
Password: fido
MCC: 302
MNC: 37

arex said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
arex said...

I was able to connect via the new Fido SIM cards using the following APN settings:

Name: Fido
APN: internet.fido.ca
Username: fido
Password: fido
MCC: 302
MNC: 370

* note the zero following 37 in MNC. The old Fido SIM cards use mobile network code 37. The new SIM cards use code 370.

Packrat said...

Hi Guys,

Based on all of the comments here then a developers G1 with a rogers SIM (and I don't want data) should work?

http://code.google.com/android/dev-devices.html

Frank

GS said...

Thanks for all of the instructions! I also got MMS working on mine. I used all of the info you provided plus:

MMS Proxy: 10.128.1.69
MMS Port: 80
APN type: mms

Works great, loving it so far! :)

Unknown said...

I am getting very frustrated with Rogers, and was hoping someone may have some advice. I bought a new SIM for my Android Dev 1 unlocked handset.. And I cannot get it to work with ANY data plan I have had Rogers put on it... The SIM from my Blackberry (Also Rogers) works in it, and the chip I bought works in my Blackberry and in my wife's Nokia that is on Fido.. Any suggestions on why I cannot make this SIM work on the G1? I cannot use my other SIM as it belongs to the company I work for.

Unknown said...

Got it working! For some Rogers SIMs the MNC is 720. Please reference my blog post for all the details: http://www.zuzax.com/2008/12/26/google-android-dev-1-why-are-simple-things-so-complex/

Danno61 said...

I just bought the G1 and now I need to get a Rogers SIM card and activate it. i have a few questions. ( I'm new at this, sorry if the questions are basic)
1. When I buy the sim card from Rogers is it oK to tell them its for the G1 or should I tell them its for another phone (which phone?).
2. What data plan should I select? Which plan have you selected to give the G1 full function?
3. Can I transfer my existing Telus phone number to Rogers.

Thanks Dan

Unknown said...

Thanks for all the great info. Took me days to get data up and running on the rogers network and in the end all it was was the 370 instead of 37 for the MNC.

Problem I'm having now is that all my received sms msg's are 5 hrs behind when there in my sms threads. My outgoing is timed correctly but for some reason every text that comes in is 5 hrs off. Not sure if its a network or something wrong with the phone. Any thoughts?

irishswordsman said...

I've had the same issue with time delay between messages with the G1 on Fido. Any way of altering the time for incoming messages?

Unknown said...

I also have the five hour delay on fido for SMS. I assumed it was a timezone issue -- I'm in EST and the messages are coming in GMT. But I can't find a setting to fix it.

Unknown said...

If I get a Fido plan for like 20$ a month, which only includes minutes and text (no data), will I be able to get an Android phone (unlocked) online and put my SIM in it and have it work?

amandaaaaaaaa said...

to fix the timezone problem, set your time zone to 0.. then re adjust the time..

anyone fix that ROAMING problem with fido??? i still have that roaming problem and id ont wanna get charged or anything for it!! please help!

Jug said...

I have the same question as Thomas. Would I be able to use a G1 Phone (unlocked) with a 20$ "Fido Forfait" (which means call + SMS)?

With data through WiFi ?

Thx, and very interesting post...

Unknown said...

Thomas and Jug:

I set my G1 up on Fido prepaid, so I can confirm that you don't need a data plan to set it up. After setting the APN as described in an earlier comment, I also had to ensure that I allowed the phone to connect to roaming (non-home) networks before the phone would pass the setup screen.

The Fido plans also allow you to use prepaid data instead of the data contract. However, this costs 5 cents per kb ($50 per mb), so its outrageously expensive. The phone will try to sync with g-mail as soon as you finish setting up. You should go into the settings box and disable the roaming networks as soon as possible after setting up, then set up the wireless settings and finish connecting from there.

Mo said...

Has anyone been able to update to Android firmware RC33 on an unlocked G1 on Rogers using this method? I can't seem to get this to work. Does it have anything to do with EDGE here?

Will our phones automatically receive the update here in Canada or do we have to do it manually?
http://www.blogsdna.com/2383/how-to-manually-update-t-mobile-g1-phone-firmware-to-rc33.htm

Unknown said...

I have a fairly complicated scenario. I bought the G1 while living in the US, unlocked it and input my AT&T SIM in and everything was just fine. Recently I have moved to Canada for a job opportunity and am still using my AT&T SIM simply roaming on the Edge Network (provided by Rogers). Calls still work properly but I can no longer send text messages or browse the web. Any ideas?

Unknown said...

Wondering if anyone can help me out here? I just received the G1 and unlocked, using it with Rogers. Everything works great except for voicemail. When i access the voicemail it tells me that it is an invalid mailbox number. the plan i'm on has visual voicemail if that makes a difference.

Unknown said...

If i have an unlocked G1, would i still be able to recieve updates in canada?

HotPepperDaddy said...

I am using my G1 on Fido. Here's my idea to access PAID apps in the market. I would purchase a T-Mobile prepaid SIM card and have it sent here, then put a small balance on it which would last 90 days. By using my WiFi connection I would attempt to view paid apps.

So, this should work if T-Mobile customers can access paid apps when roaming out of the country. Does this make sense?

bengeminii said...

I have a brand new G1 Developer phone and have set all the settings as indicated above. I have seen both the G and Edge network icons appear but I cannot get past the setup - "trouble communicating with Google servers" comes up everytime.

I can see traffic arrows lighting up which indicates that there is some kind of traffic.

Any ideas?

Unknown said...

seems like the guys in canada are only on the edge network...if u have 3g networks available there there is a way to force the g1 to connect to 3g...download "Any Cut" fromthe android market...open and select new shortcut go to activity then go to phone info rename or not then select ok and a icon should b on the home screen...click it go to preferred network type and select wcdma only....now im in the US and using Att with g1 and have data plan...it connects and says 3g but also says raoming..att does not charge for roaming networks unless your outside the country...for u guys dont know but i hope u can get 3g speeds..shure makes the expirience better

Unknown said...

@my - Thanks for the tip, but I'm pretty confident that it won't work. The chip inside the phone doesn't talk the same frequency that Rogers' 3G network talks - and Rogers is the only 3G network in Canada. In the US, ATT does have a 3G network, so you can probably connect to it.

Unknown said...

Sorry for the repeat questions but I am having a lot of trouble getting the G1 to work for me.

I have a Fido pay-as-you-go SIM card, an unlocked T-Mobile G1 and was hoping someone could possibly give me step by step instructions on how to get the G1 working.

Again, sorry for the "green" questions.

Chris

Unknown said...

I'm another guy who can't get past the setup - "trouble communicating with Google servers" stage to associate the phone with my google account. I have a current plan with Rogers, took the SIM card from my phone and stuck it in the google phone, and added a "Flex Rate" data plan to my account. I also entered all the APN settings and deleted all the T1 APN entries. I've tried both 72 and 720 for the MNC setting. The phone shows plenty of signal strength from Rogers, but I've never seen any EDGE or other icons.

No joy......
Does anyone have the magic missing piece??

thanks much!

Unknown said...

UPDATE

Got it working....
Deleted all APN's, and started over. Followed the instructions carefully in the little card that came with the Dev 1 phone. Not sure if editing the same APN over and over just wasn't working, but starting over did. Also made sure I was in an area with a strong signal.

Unknown said...

I am a researcher (SFU) in Vancouver - and still am not sure where to buy a developer g1 in Canada? Anysuggestions. Do I cross over the border goto to t-mobie and bring it up or is there some official way for a developer to purchase up here?

thanks, steve
sdipaola@sfu.ca

Unknown said...

@steved - There are 2 types of unlocked phones. The most common are SIM-unlocked phones, which can be used with any phone network's SIM card. They're for advanced consumers who want to configure the phone on a network of their choice (instructions for Rogers in Canada are in the original blog post above). You can probably find one of those on eBay pretty easily.

There are also developer phones (which are also SIM-unlocked). The flash memory in the phone is unlocked so you can update to a new operating system, you can run as root, etc. Basically, you have complete control of the phone. They are intended for developers building applications and extending the Android OS. Here are instructions for buying and setting up an Android Dev Phone 1: http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/device.html#dev-phone-1 They're available for purchase in a number of countries, including Canada, but they come from the US and I think the shipping and taxes may be ridiculously high. So you may want to have it shipped to a friend the US and pick it up there - of course you should pay the taxes when you bring it back to Canada. :)

Vijay Raj said...

Looks like these are the official apn coming with the current offering of g1 from rogers

Name: Rogers
APN: rogers-core-appl1.apn
MMSC: http://mms.gprs.rogers.com
MMS Proxy: 10.128.1.69
MMS Port: 80

MagicFab said...

Hi all

Thanks for all the information shared here, it's amazing this comes first in Google results.

I've setup a Google Group for Android users in Canada, hoping this may provide better access to more information related to our local use of Android devices.

See:
http://groups.google.com/group/android-users-in-canada

Cheers,

Fabian

NathanColquhoun said...

So now that the G1 is in Canada, do you know if we can get 3g speeds and/or paid apps on the market on unlocked G1's that we got from the States?

Unknown said...

Thanks ever so much for this info (did not try the MMS part)

I just "rooted" my HTC-Magic phone from Rogers to Install the new HT-Sense UI and the process wiped my APN data so I no longer could access 3G... Your post save me big time!

To answer some of the questions in previous posts:

- 3G quality is excelent in greater metropolitain area only. Some region dont even have Edge/2G
- Android-dls has all the info on rooting/upgrading your Rogers Android phone, but I still dont see paid apps in the store even "rooted"
- Contract terms on Rogers allow tethering with data plans and two apps dont require root access to work

JGB: Rule Discordia! said...

Worked for my unocked Anycall Galaxy (Korean Samsung) after no luck through official Rogers channels. I LOVE YOU!

Unknown said...

On my replacement phone (I "soft"-bricked the 1st one an I'm still waiting to see if I get charged for the refurbished replacement, before I root the new one...)

(in french)
NOM : Rogers
APN : rogers-core-appl1.apn
MMSC : http://mms.gprs.rogers.com
proxy MMS : 10.128.1.69
port MMS : 80
MCC : 302
MNC : 720
everything eles is set to <Non défini>

No I dont get better 3G reception then with the setting I found here but some of you might!

Unknown said...

Hey, nice blog! hopefully most of you have solved the issues you were having with data reception on the G1. But just in case there are some out there experiencing problems, I might have some answers.

for the users with an unlocked g1, or even a rooted device, it might be easier to fix some of the issues. For example, the roaming sign atop the signal bar. To remove that, simply flash the latest radio update for your g1. you can find it by googling it.

As far as activation of the phone goes, it isn't necessary for a data plan on the 1.6 firmware and later (since they have added a skip button). But on the later ones, I suggest you borrow a SIM with a data plan or get a temporary one from your provider. There IS a way to do it over wifi, but it's too much of a hastle in my own opinion. There are tons of forums out there with instructions on how to do it.

As for the APN's, it's always good to keep a list of major provider APN's handy just incase you happen to have their service running on ur phone.

I'm currently running a rooted version of the 1.6 firmware on my g1 and on the Fido network. About to switch to rogers on their prepaid unlimited txt and data plan, only because it's better :P

Unknown said...

I am trying to activate my unlocked T-mobile G1 phone to use my rogers sim card on it which has data, but when i am signing into my google account it still says error even after i have change the APN to rogers APN, but by the signal bars they're is the "E" for EDGE I am assuming. So i do not know what else to do, please help. Thanks.

Unknown said...

xboxservice, Rogers has lock down there 3g with a ROM update.

I beleive I read somewhere in the XDA-Developpers forums for rooting the Rogers HTC-Magic that you can get customer service to reset your access somehow.