A few readers have asked me if it is difficult to set up an unlocked Nokia E61 to work with a GSM carrier - it's not.
If you are new to using unlocked GSM devices you might wonder how you get the right settings from the carrier you choose to use the unlocked Nokia E61 with.
I almost wish it was harder, but anyone can do it. Here are the easy steps to set up your unlocked Nokia E61 to work with virtually any GSM carrier.
There is an online Nokia Phone Configurator that will do the job for you. All you need to do is to enter the appropriate information and the settings will be sent to you via an SMS.
Enter the phone model - Nokia E61.
Choose the country where you will use the Nokia E61
Confirm your selection and enter your cellphone number. An SMS will be sent to you.
The website will return a code that you will need to enter on your device in order to access and save the carrier settings.
Enter the code on your Nokia E61 and save the settings.
That's it. It will take you less than five minutes. I have had no problems getting the settings to use the device on Cingular's network. The only setting that I didn't receive was for the native IM application. It seems as those settings are closely guarded by the carriers and not easily accessible unless you buy the device from the carrier. However, there are several 3rd party IM applications that works great on the Nokia E61. More about that in a later post.
Now head over to the Nokia phone configurator and set up your Nokia E61.
This is my send time asking for help on the issue below. Since posting my first request for assistance, I upgraded my e61’s firmware with this blog’s direction. Thank you so much! (there were a few steps that were not mentioned, such as choose “pc suite instead of data transfer” when beginning the firmware upgrade from nokia’s site). HERE IS MY REQUEST FOR HELP:
Can’t receive text messages. I am an AT&T customer, now under Cingular. I have an unlocked nokiae 61. I was able to send and receive text messages the first day I had the phone. Now, I can send messages, receive phone calls, yet, I cannot receive messages at all, including emails from my gmail account (which came to my phone during th day).
I put my sim card in my previous phone, a nokia 9500 and I was unable to receive text messages, even though I never had a problem with the 9500 for the year and a half that I used it. Is tihs a problem with my sim card and/or my settings on the e61. Please help!!! In advance, Thank you!
James and all - I am experiencing almost the exact same problem you have mentioned.
I have a Nokia E50 and rely on text messaging and Mail for Exchange (1.3.1). I am an AT&T Blue account with Cingular. Everything works perfectly except that I cannot receive text messages. I can send the just fine, but I never receive them. The first day I received a few, and occasionally (once a week) after a power cycle one may trickle in from several days ago. If I move the SIM to my old Nokia 6620 phone, the text messages pour in. I have spent many hours with Cingular Support and their technical support group and everything on my account is correctly provisioned. Nokia USA won’t talk to me since the phone was purchased at a Nokia store in Thailand. But I have tried soft resets and hard resets; I also have the most recent firmware on the E50 device. I am _extremely_ reluctant to switch my account to Cingular Orange (no going back to Blue if this is done) since I have read numerous “issues” with MEdiaNet as an access point (and verified by purchasing a Cingular Pay-As-You-Go Orange SIM for testing, the Internet is slow if it even works and Mail for Exchange is constantly in the “connecting” state and never successfully synchs). Currently I use mMode as my access point configured only with “proxy” and the Internet is very fast and reliable, Exchange for Email maintains a constant EDGE data network connection and my email is updated within minutes. Using 2 different non-USA SIM cards while overseas and everything worked perfectly there too including being able to receive text messages. This leads me to believe there IS something wrong with the Cingular configuration on the phone (as I can “hear” the attempts of text messages to come in from the nearby speaker interference noise, yet they never arrive). And since I see other people having this same issue across different models of Nokia phones and various firmware it sure feels like a Cingular configuration issue. Any other suggestions would be great appreciated. Thank you.
Just bought a E61 and after hours on the phone with ANS Blue rep I still cannot get the phone on the web or configure email..I am an old AT&T network customer and cannot get help from nokia or cigular. Does anyone know how to set up this phone using a mac and the att network???
Thank you
Mr. Admin, wonderful Admin,
I’ve searched hundreds of posts and billions of comments and have been unable to find a fix for the problem I’m experiencing.
After I set up and installed my BB Connect (which works perfectly), I have been unable to browse the internet via MMS, WAP or IPS. I’ve changed the settings several times both manually and via Nokia’s texting service.
I am on Cingular, have BB plan, etc. Again. Completely able to visit all sites before BB Connect was installed and working … any help would be a godsend.
PS - The errors I always get are “Packet Date: Packet Data Connection Not Available”
Thanks for the great site and awesome link to auto-configure my new E61 phone!
I have the same Cingular Blue/AT&T receiving SMS problem. I had it with an N80 and 3 different E70’s. Anyone find a fix, LET ME KNOW ASAP!!!!!
I´ve bought a Nokia E62 from Claro (Brazil) and now I´d like to use it with another company (TIM). I´ve paid the fine to unlock the phone, got the code and when i´ve tried to enter it, I receive a message (not allowed). I´ve tried with and without the SIM card. same message. Probably I´ve tried more than 5 times and the phone is really locked now. Any idea how can I do it (unlock)? Thanks
Jon, Tom, and Everyone,
Jon-I am definetly not switching to an Orange Cingular account for the same reasons you mentioned. Plus, I have unlimited talk time for $99 with my ATT plan.
Thank you for your reply. Your time and assistance is appreciated. I thought it was a sim card issue, until I got a new sim card and I still cannot get text messages. Going further, I sent my phone back to the cellar, they tested the phone with both Cingular and T Mobile networks and said they received text messages and emails just fine. They also “flashed” the phone “to be safe.” When I received the phone back, I was able to send and receive text msg and thought it was all great. After receiving 27 msgs, I was unable to receive msgs again. When I put my sim card in my sony-ericcson 600wi, all my messages came in from the previous night and current day.
Yes, I used the Nokia Phone Configuration utility/web site software to get my settings for the e61. I wasexcited that it worked and all the settings came in, but then that excitement quickly went away.
Everyone on this blog, please let me me know if you have any ideas. Your help is greatly appreciatedl! If I cannot do anything by the end of this week, I will be forced to return the phone. Thank you again for your time.
Hi, I’m having great problems setting up the WI-FI,WLAN,Access Point settings on my Nokia E61. Please could someone help me solve this problem.
Thanks
BAaq
Anyone know how to correctly install the Blackberry service on the E61? I’ve downloaded the required software from Nkoia Business Solutions however It’s still not recieving the service books. It’s worked before but it all got erased after I flased the phone to remove the Planet3 branding.
Oh yea, Im with T-mobile USA and using BIS.
Does anyone knows if the Nokia E61 will support Cingular’s 3G Services? I’ve read that Cingular does not want to introduce the E61 due to its SIP capabilities.
Thanks in advance…
Omar.
I’m also wondering about the 3g services. I got a new sim card and tried to use UMTS to no avail. I there a solution to this or as an earlier post said is it still not available?
I have an E70 I bought from Hong Kong unlocked. Updated the firmware from nokia USA when they came out here. I just ported to T-Mobile from Cingular Orange for better reception (worked great!). Problem is, with T-Mobile hot spots, the phone reboots everytime I try to connect. The does not happen when I connect to any other wireless LANs with this phone. I’ve tried on different hot spots with the same results.
Any ideas?
Admin,
How do I go about using my E61 (w/ Cingular and unlimited data plan) as a modem for my laptop?
As always, thanks for doing such a great job with the site.
-Dan
I have an Nokia E61, I can’t get my test messaging service to send text messages. I have a AT & T wireless card for Cingular cellular service. Please advise as to send text messages.
I have a Nokia E61 and I don’t know how to delete my emails so that they don’t show on the phone display. I have deleted the emials and they are “x” d out, but still show on the display. Please advise.
Hi can anybody tell me if the any of the sidekick plans work with an E61? I remember using a sidekick 2 plan on my nokia 7710 before and it worked, now when i try to use a sidekick (3) plan on my e61, it refuses to connect somehow tmobile is blocking it? Thanks
I have a really wierd issue. I can do an intial exchange synch - works fine. But after that I ony get push e-mail delivered to my handset when I have opened my exchange account using my PC and synced the new messages to my PC. Anyone seen this problem?
Guys, sorry for disturbing. This is the only topic more or less convenient I found to post the question.
Is it possible to use GPRS connection (podcasts downloading, etc.) during the incoming-outgoing calls on Nokia E61? If yes, please guide me through the settings, cuz, I browsed the Book and Settings and did not find a single hint…
Thank you in advance for your kind help!
I have Cingular and an unlocked e61. I would like to be able to use the WiFi when there are free access points around. Everytime I try to get on the web in that situation, the phone automatically shifts to cingular’s gprs system and I am getting wopping bills for data packets. Any help would be appreciated for setting this up clearly. Thanks so much
hi tdyner,
You just have to make sure that you switch settings so that the browser application asks you which access point to use (instead of setting one up as “always use this access point” It is a setting under browser. Change it to “always ask”.
Cheers
Ed
Thanks admin-I think I need a “simple” walk through. As soon as I hit the web icon, it tried to connect to Cingular GPRS and is successful and starts to download-thus beginning the charges. I could just buy the unlimited data packet but would still like the option of using the free WiFi when it’s there. How do I set up the web so it asks me first what I want to do?
Open the browser, click cancel when the web browser tries to access the net, Options > settings > Access points (change to Always ask)
This way it will give you on option whether to use any Cingular data plans or to use WiFi.
Tried it but the user defined button is always “checked” no matter what I do. It won’t let me change to always ask. The button for Cingular-GPRS is also always checked even when it lists other access points and I click on those.
I’m hoping you can respond to my issue as well (it’s similar to Ibraheem’s post on Jan. 13th 2007). Anyway, I have the Nokia E60 and I just bought a 3G SIM card so I can take full advantage of the services from my carrier (Cingular, the new AT&T). Upon getting the card installed, I was unable to connect to the internet via GPRS anymore. I resolved that by using your suggestion of changing the ISP to “wireless.cingular.com” and adjusting the Proxy to 80 vs. 8080 and I was back on the web.
Now, I guess it’s my fault but to took it upon my judgement to update my Nokia Firmware via the Nokia Software Updater (Version 2.0618.06.05 RM-49) After I made that update, neither the old settings or your new configuration settings for the Access Points would allow me to get on-line via GPRS anymore.
Please advise if there is a new configuration that will work for the new Firmware update (Version 2.0618.06.05 RM-49), or is there anyway I can revert back to my old Firmware version???
Hello,
I am very new at this but I was using a blackberry till today and i have just switched over to my dad’s E 61. I was sondering how I should go about the settings so that i can get my email on my phone like the blackberry. I am currently using Cingular and I have blackberry internet activated. I also usemy corporate email that i want to set up. This email is POP3 and I want to be able to get push email on my E61. Please guide me…
My goodlink client is hanging and not receiving/sending. How do you do the debug reset like you do on the treo when goodlink has the same problem? I am really stuck
I am in Canada with Fido. When I do a manual search, “fido” is the only network I see. I have talked to their customer support and they tell me that I should see other network as well - but only “fido” comes up on Manual search. Can anyone please help me on this and tell me how I can get other networks?
Thank you
has anyone figured out how to open jpegs and pdf on blackberry connect with E61?
using 3 in HK as providor
will HATE to go back to BB8700 but cannot open jpegs or word, pdfs.
2. anyone know how to get auto complete for words or email/phone numbers to work?
Will blackberry connect work with a cingular plan even though the phone technically isn’t supported by cingular? I know the E62 works, but for phones like the e61 and e65 that aren’t sold by Cingular; do they work?
Thank you all for the advice and help ….I have a E-61 with mobile gmail.In the inbox view it says no messages here .
If i refresh it is picking up old mail.Do advice
iam still having the hardest time sending text mesg,, an error allways comes up.
it is so helpfull every thing here .
me and my bodies are checking here every thing all tha time.
now. if any one can get me the direct settings Gmail - nokia 9300
tnx a lot
Customer service sucks, they are making fool of the customers. The delivery is not in time. I have not get the rebate till now. Avoid wirefly and anyone affiliated with them!
Hi, Jon, James and other who had the SMS receiving issue with the old AT&T plan. Did you get the issue fixed, if so, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I spent hours with the AT&T/Cingular rep who ultimately said that since this is an old AT&T plan, they cannot debug the issue without upgrading me to their new plans. On top of that they want to charge me $18 for “upgrading” when it is really due to a problem. the problem is that I don’t want to upgrade since I have a very good deal from my old AT&T plan.
I had the same issue with the incoming SMS /text messages stopped but it was followed by no incoming calls as well. AT&T sent me a new SIM card that fixed the incoming calls, but no text messages. I tried the SIM in another phone and it still cannot receive the text messages.
PLS HELP.
Thanks
Raj
I’ve been using my e61 with cingular for several months (as configured by the service above) without any issues. Recently with the cingular/ ‘new at&t’, service has deteriorated (in the same areas/standard locations and home!) to the point of multiple dropped calls where previously I never had any.
After a call to support, they downloaded some “software” to my phone, and now my provider is shown as AT&T (where earlier today, it was showing Cingular). I will see how the service is now.
BTW, I checked the service above, and AT&T is not available yet, but hopefully soon.
Thanks
Actually I started ahving sporatic results with the first number and switched to +19703769301
Old AT&T blue sim use +19703769301 , directions can be found on AT&T’s/cingular’s site.
Hi guys,
I have the Nokia e61i with bbconnect from tmobile. when i initially got the phone i ordered the $29.95 enterprise blackberry plan but i decided that i didnt need that plan so i had it changed to the 19.99 plan. Ever since then the edge signal on my phone vanished [since sunday] and it seems like none of the Tmobile folks can resolve the issue. Is there a way on the phone that i can turn the edge signal on? When i reboot the phone it flashes for awhile and vanishes. Tmobile says everything is configured correctly on their end so i dont know what else to do. Thanks your help is appreciated.
hey guys,
i have an unlocked nokia 7370 and i have tmobile as my carrier. i was wondering if you could help me with this. i am not able to receive nor send out multimedia messaging. is there anyway you could help me out with this??? that would be a huge help!!! Thanks!!!!
My Nokia E70, out of the blue and after a year of working perfectly, just stopped receiving text messages and alerting for voicemail. I am with AT&T, Cingular, the New AT&T….customer service hasn’t been able to resolve the issue, any suggestions?
i am using e 61 i , and i want to use internet through my wireless home network, but i am not able to connect internet through my wi fi network, i am using D-Link DI 524 router.
please provide solution.
Hi,
I tried to do a hard reset and completely erase all data on the device and restore to factory settings I typed *#7370# before it would shut down it asked
for the lock code…so I entered my code (tytt) hit ok then it shut down and restarted.
So it didn’t seem to erase the apps I had installed but that I can deal with. The problem now is when the phone goes into to auto lock after 5min my lock code (tytt) does not work. I also tried the default lock code (12345) and that doesn’t work. If I restart the phone and fiddle with it before the auto lock kicks in I can go into security settings to try and change the lock code…but my code (tytt) and the default one (12345) doesn’t work.
If I try the hard reset it will ask for the unlock code again before it will reset…I enter my code (tytt) and then it will work. So to me it seems like the unlock doesn’t change from tytt but after the reset it doesn’t recognize it either. I’m frustrated as I was just about to sell this phone to someone but I won’t now till I can figure the unlock code
This is an unlocked phone that I bought overseas in Thailand is there another default code besides the 12345 one?
ANy help would be great…thanks
PROBLEM RECEIVING SMS MESSAGES!
Hey all,
Seems like this is a common problem. Receiving texts on my E70 was absolutely no problem for me up until a few days ago. My texts just stopped working. I can send texts but I can’t receive them. I’ve confirmed this on a few phones. When I send texts to other phones (even on other services), they receive my texts, but I never receive texts from them.
Sometimes when I power the phone off and back on, a random text from a few days ago will pop up. That’s sporadic. Still, no incoming texts coming in through my phone.
I have the old AT&T/Cingular. Has anyone else had this issue and figured out a solution or explanation for it? I have the European version of the E70 and using it in the US. I’ve had it for almost a year now and have used it with absolutely no problems. All of a sudden, the problems start.
I would really appreciate the help as I rely heavily on text messaging to get things done. Thank you so much!
Correct URL is this https://nokiags.wdsglobal.com/globalJumpPage.html