I've been lucky enough to be using a Google Nexus One for the past few weeks (thanks to my employer). The setup steps are basically the same as I posted for the G1 - as are the limitations.
First, you'll need a Nexus One. Apparently Google's online store realizes you're in Canada and won't sell you one - but the resourceful will get one. I'm sure Google will eventually release the Nexus One to Canada - probably when the limitations below are resolved.
As with the original G1, the Nexus One will work on the Rogers/Fido network, but not at 3G speeds. You'll only get EDGE speed. For most things this is perfectly fine - but watching a YouTube video is painful. If you can live with that limitation, read on.
You'll also need a Rogers (or Fido) SIM card. Make sure you have a data plan (not a Blackberry plan). But, do NOT insert the SIM yet. Doing the initial setup over wifi will be easier - the Android setup doesn't let you configure APN info during setup (which is silly) and your SIM card may not set it correctly.
So, make sure you're in a wifi area. Put the battery in, but do not put in the SIM card. Turn on the phone and go through the setup. You'll be able to configure the wifi connection and setup the phone with your Google account.
Once the phone is setup, turn it off and put the SIM card in. Turn it back on. You should have phone access and data may work depending on the SIM card (turn off the wifi to check). If data does not work, you'll need to configure the APN info. See my previous post for details.
Enjoy! It's a great phone (but, yes, I'm sure it's not perfect... yet).
Update: Corrected the mention of Bell/Telus. Because of the way they've built their 3G networks (as an overlay on their CDMA network) they don't have fallback capabilities that the Nexus One will support.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
39 comments:
Thanks a lot! I think this is very helpful! I live in Canada and really really dying to get this phone. If I get Nexus one I'll try this method. I think Rogers should bring this phone to Canada ASAP!!
I have a plan for my Bell dumbphone that includes unlimited data, and it obviously doesn't give me 3g speed (costing only $20 each month is great though). If I purchased the nexus one, my understanding is that I would receive unlimited data (at EDGE speeds), until I got caught - or does Bell have no issue with that kind of usage?
Thanks for the great post. You can buy a Nexus One off the Google Phone website by using Hotspot Shield (google it)
@siriusapplications.com
I think the problem is whether google is willing to ship this cell to Canada after I purchase the phone or not . hmm
Are you sure that the Nexus One will work on the TELUS network? I've read almost everywhere else that it won't. Regardless, I ordered one and it's destined for Alberta, with a quick stop to some undisclosed spot in the US before arriving here. I'm thinking I might have to reselling it now if it doesn't work.
Telus/Bell does not have a GSM edge network. They only have an HSPA network, therefore the phone will not work on their network. It will however work on Roger's network as described, or even better you will get full 3G speeds on Wind's network if you live in Wind's home footprint.
thanks a lot this information is really helpful...I want to buy this phone too but i am not sure how it will get shipped to Canada...i might be buying this phone so if anyone who is from Vancouver bought this phone online from google...can you please post the procedure on how to get it to Canada?c
No, Bell and Telus got a GSM overlay. It will work on their network, not at GSM speeds.
Ashton, you are mistaken.
The new Bell and Telus network is only HSPA on the 850Mhz/1900Mhz bands, no EDGE fall back. The Nexus One (as it is now) will NOT work with Bell and Telus.
As averageCanuck said, it will work on the Rogers network (at EDGE speed).
As it was said, it will work on the Rogers/Fido GSM network at EDGE speed, BUT what I wonder most is will the phone ever be able to work on the 3G network? Firmware upgrade for instance? Or maybe it's on the CIE that has something to do to make their network compatible?
It's a hardware limitation and no current phone has quad band 3G so no a firmware upgrade will not fix anything. So until HTC/Google release a version with the correct bands you will not be able to get 3G speeds in Canada on Rogers, Telus or Bell. However you can currently get full 3G speeds on Wind Mobile.
I guess it'll be goodbye Telus and hello Wind!
Well, isn't rogers supporting HSDPA in major canadian cities since october? So 3G should be available with the Nexus One...
@Le fustré de la vie
There are different 3G bands. Wind and T-Mobile use the same frequencies for their 3G network. Bell, Telus, Rogers and AT&T all use the same frequency as each other but it is different from TMO/Wind. All of North America is different than Europe.
Sorry, I was mistaken. It will, however, work with the rogers network at EDGE speeds, and will work with the new Wind network at 3g speeds. I'll probably wait a bit before I order - and I don't know if I should give up on my dreams of getting a F-01B...
Since it will work on the WIND network, the chances are good it will also work on the Videotron 3G network that will be rolled out in Quebec this year. The reason WIND is not available in Qc is this (from the WIND website):
# Why aren’t we talking about Quebec? We’re not in Quebec because we were beat out in the spectrum auction. Quebecor was successful in buying up nearly all of the available AWS spectrum in Quebec. They actually paid more for the Quebec spectrum than we paid for all the rest of Canada! We wanted to be there (and really still want to be there), but we can’t do that without spectrum. However, we are working on having roaming coverage in Quebec and other areas in Canada.
I just received my Nexus One and tried my Telus SIM (from my HTC Hero) with it and it DOES NOT work. I called Telus and they said they do not support it and cannot help.
@George
I think you just chose the one wrong carrier out of all(unlucky..).
Nexus One supports 2G GSM of any bandwidth available (Quad band) and limited bandwidth of 3G HSPA Network (AWS) . All other carriers in Canada support 2G GSM while Telus and Koodo which is minor brand from Telus supports CDMA Network for 2G. NOT 2G GSM like Bell or Rogers.
Therefore Telus will never pick up 2G GSM signal. For 3G Telus shares network with Bell and different from Rogers so it will not pick up 3G signal either.
So Here are my suggestions.
If you want to use NX1 as a cell phone only and use Wi-Fi for data/Internet etc, go to any other carriers but not Telus or Koodo.
If you want to use NX1 as a cell phone + some internet, go to Rogers. Oliverf already demonstrated that it works but I think you won't get the fast internet speed.
If you want to use NX1 as a cell phone + Full speed 3G internet/data, go to wind mobile. It is the only carrier has AWS 3G network that is compatible with NX1. It should work theoretically.
Sorry Oliverf for leaving multiple comments...
some corrections to my comment above. Some Carriers may only provide 3G network and 2G for roaming (expensive..) So the best way to check is go to store and let them test it out for you.
I just rechecked about the 2G system of Bell Mobility and confirmed that they are using CDMA network. Therefore the Solo Mobile also uses CDMA too.. since its a subsidiary of the Bell. So again NX1 will not be compatible with this Bell for 2G network.
Hope it helps.
what i ended up doing was have my sister take over my telus contract (18 months left with lots of perks after being with them for a while) and i signed up with fido month to month so that i can at least use their EDGE network for data.
i'm usualy around wifi so it isn't so bad! i'm waiting for the day WIND mobile comes to Montreal. They are coming to Toronto in 2010 according to their site and are pretty established out west.
well good news for me (possible lol). I called WIND mobile and asked them when they were coming to montreal and they told me not anytime soon because another company bought the frequency they use in quebec. They told me it was Quebecor (which owns Videtron). I called videotron and they confirmed that they support tri-band UMTS (900 1700 2100) which the nexus-one is compatible with. I am going to go to a store to ask more questions. Good thing I signed up for Fido with month to month and not a contract!
bah!! videotron doesn't offer data! what a waste :(
Hi. Using Nexus on Rogers.
I have followed the instructions and added the APNs. However, no EDGE shows up. Is this because when I called Rogers to activate my data plan I mentioned I have an android? Should I call them up and say I want an iPhone data plan (as suggested in the G1 guide) instead? Didn't know there's a difference.
Thanks
i dont think there's a difference as you can have any data plan and then use your SIM in an iPhone or any other phone and the data will work (this is confirmed as i put my co-worker's iphone sim in my nexus one before i signed up and it worked fine).
Make sure your APN settings are correct, for rogers i believe it is:
Rogers
APN: internet.com
Username: wapuser1
Password: wap
once you enter that info reboot your phone. if not just call rogers i guess.
hope it works!
Hmm, I triple checked the Rogers APNs, even tried the other ones from the G1 comments and still no luck with my Nexus.
Called Rogers and the just said that my Android data plan is active. My SIM card is 2 years old, could that have anything to do with it?
Not sure what else to check.
I just got a N1 yesterday. I have a Rogers data plan that I was using for my iPhone before it was stolen a couple of months ago.
It detected the Rogers EDGE network right off the bat and no further setup steps were required for me. Loving the phone so far, and for my uses the EDGE speeds aren't that bad (though yeah, if you want to do a lot of youtube streaming or the like you'll probably be unhappy).
Has anyone actually tried the N1 on Wind in Toronto / Calgary? Any evidence that it actually gets 3G data? (I've seen conflicting comments elsewhere.)
My opinion, this phone will create the market demand changes, because nexus stripped one will surprise everyone
As far as I know, WIND Mobile is not accepting unlocked or outside phones for use on their network. So although theoretically the Nexus One is supposed to work, you wouldn't be able to try it because WIND will not let you hook the phone up. They are actively trying to bring the Nexus One to Canada (reports say).
Videotron doesn't have a data plan... YET!!!
It's still unclear when, but it is coming, and it will be 3G+. This is an excerpt of their FAQ (which I can't give you a link to because it's behind a customer connection unfortunately).
-----------------
3G+ network
What exactly is the 3G+ advanced wireless network?
The solution that Videotron will be rolling out is an advanced 3.75G network (3G+). This technology will provide data transmission speeds of up to 3 Mbps. This means you will enjoy a better quality of multimedia services and features, such as mobile TV, mobile e-mail, etc.
-----------------
And here is a link to brief article about it:
http://mobilesyrup.com/2009/12/22/videotron-says-our-3g-latest-generation-wireless-network-is-coming-up-fast/
BYE
MAD
Hey for those that are trying to actualy get the phone into canada and have not succeeded or just need Ideas.... Here is link that might help.. I guess is the close thing to getting one here but meh
---------------------------------
http://www.sxymobile.com/news/how-to-buy-a-nexus-one-in-canada/
How about this:
http://www.puremobile.ca/HTC/HTC-Google-Nexus-One-Black-GSM-Phone/
BYE
MAD
hahaha Or that too lol... but is mine is more challenging!!!! lol
it is important to note that if you have your phone delivered to a friend in the states and that they send it to you, you will have to pay duties on it when it crosses the border, look at about 90 bucks CAD. the only way around this is to have the person sending it to remove any trace of purchase from within the box and to have it marked as a gift. however this is illegal!
is not really Illegal, I think more enthical... Because your freind gave it to you.. But it pretty nice and expensive gift..
I've managed to get 3G in Montreal, Canada with my US T-Mobile Nexus One with Videotron:
http://blog.mikecouturier.com/2010/09/google-nexus-one-in-canada-3g-with-t.html
Thanks for your article
Post a Comment